As a busy period of Codex activities gets underway starting with the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Africa next week (16th January) in Kenya, the Codex Secretariat has conducted a brief review of the highlights of 2016. 39 new texts The core business in Codex is developing international standards and the 39th Commission adopted 39 new and revised texts last year. These included completion of the Code of Practice on Fish and Fishery Products and the subsequent adjournment of the Fish Committee. Ensuring good [...]

On December 21st, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt spoke to the Chinese National Codex Committee at the annual meeting in Beijing that brings together the numerous ministries involved in Codex work. Annual Codex Report Chaired by Dr Fan Yongxiang of The National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment and hosted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the session heard reports on current activities and future initiatives regarding food safety and international standards. More than 20 representatives from the China Food Industry Association [...]

Meeting Announcement Date change The 40th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission will take place in Geneva, Switzerland: Monday 17 to Saturday 22 July 2017. The venue will be announced shortly. Consequently the Executive Committee will meet in Geneva from 10-13 July 2017. Photo credit (c) Codex/Sciotti

After three days of fruitful discussions, the 430 participants of the 4th OIE Global Conference on Animal welfare representing more than 100 countries have endorsed a range of recommendations aimed at furthering the improvement of animal welfare worldwide, one of the OIE’s priority domains of work. In addition, a draft Global strategy on animal welfare was presented for the first time to the participants to serve as a basis for discussion during the event. This strategy notably recommends the establishment of [...]

FAO, the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) and the Standard Trade and Development Facility (STDF) invite inputs on knowledge and use of the FAO/IFIF Manual of Good Practice for the Feed Industry.  This 2010 manual, a guide for managers of feedmills and the feed industry as a whole, provides comprehensive information and practical guidelines for compliance with regulatory frameworks in response to the Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding. The application of this Code was an important step for [...]

This year marks the 50th anniversary of CCNFSDU. In the very early days of Codex, in 1965, the fledgling European Coordinating Committee made a proposal to hand responsibility for a new European Committee on Dietetic Foodstuffs to the Federal Republic of Germany due to the experience in this field of the Federal Ministry of Health. First meeting The Committee on Dietetic Foods first met in Germany in May 1966. Items on the agenda included matters regarding “gluten free” foods, “foods for nursing mothers, [...]

The working group hosted by UK and co-chaired by the USA and Australia met in London from 29 November to 2 December 2016 to complete the tasks set by the 39th Codex Alimentarius Commission. Taskforce to tackle emerging global threat This work involved preparing the work for the Codex Task Force on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which will begin its discussions in 2017. Hosted by the Republic of Korea, this body will review and revise Codex texts to address uses of antimicrobials in agriculture [...]

The Codex Chairperson, Mrs Awilo Ochieng Pernet, attended the Shenzhen China Food Safety Risk Communication Conference which took place in Shenzhen, China on 28th and 29th November 2016. Hosted by the Shenzhen Food Safety Commission Office, the Food and Drug Administration of Shenzhen Municipality and organised by the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology (SIST), the Food Safety Risk Communication Conference was attended by more than 400 participants representing stakeholders from relevant sectors including government officials, industry, consumer organisations and academia. Food [...]

The Codex Chairperson Mrs Awilo Ochieng Pernet and the Codex Secretary Mr Tom Heilandt met with the communications team from the Chilean Agency for Food Safety and Quality (ACHIPIA) to learn about the Chilean experience in raising consumer awareness about the importance of food safety and nutrition. Everyone's responsibility With the Agency’s motto being “Safe and nutritious foods, everyone’s responsibility”, ACHIPIA has set out to explain to the general public not only the Chilean national food safety and quality control system, but [...]

These meetings provide an incredibly important opportunity for dynamic discussion on major and emerging food safety and quality issues facing the region. Dr Kazuaki Miyagishima - WHO The 20th meeting of the Codex Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) began today in Viña del Mar, Chile. Nearly 100 delegates from the 33 countries in the region are attending as well as Codex representatives from Canada, Switzerland and the United States. Codex Regions There are six Codex regions each represented by a joint [...]