On 19 June, and for the second consecutive year, fruit drinks producer, Sumol+Compal, promoted World Food Safety Day, with a talk open to all employees. The objective of the event was to promote and consolidate the culture of quality and food safety in the organization. The talk had the theme “Impact of the evolution of standards on the food industry”. There were two invited speakers, André Santos and Maria Noémia Gomes, who answered some questions about the topic of the talk. The company [...]

Sarah Cahill of the Codex Secretariat has received the Ivan Parkin award at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting taking place from 16-19 July 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her lecture entitled “Anatomy of a Standard” emphasized how clarity, engagement, science, impact and patience were key to developing useful and successful standards. The Ivan Parkin Lecture was established by IAFP in 1986 to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the field of food safety. Each [...]

While the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was taking place from 10-14 July 2023 in Geneva, the work of one of the expert bodies that provide scientific advice to Codex was in the news when the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) presented its comprehensive updated risk assessment of aspartame, an artificial sweetener, used in many products including diet soft drinks. The update reaffirmed the existing acceptable daily intake (ADI) level for aspartame of 0-40 mg/kg [...]

With a focus on emerging food safety challenges, Mongolia organized a consultation on the "Status and future of food standards in the country". Fifty representatives from various institutions discussed solutions and the next steps at the event on 7 June 2023 at the United Nations House in Ulaanbaatar. “Together with colleagues from ministries, laboratories, research and non-governmental organizations, food producers, universities, and media, we talked about the challenges and possible solutions to ensure food safety. For example, the lack of use [...]

Colombia celebrated World Food Safety Day 2023 with a webinar and a video by a famous young farmer to promote "Food safety is everyone's business". Almost one hundred people attended the event online on 7 June 2023, and the influencer reached over 637 000 followers on Instagram. “During the webinar, we discussed myths and truth about food safety, the importance of good farming and good agriculture practices, sanitary regulations in Colombia, the five keys to safer food, and international projects in [...]

More than a hundred people attended a high-level World Food Safety Day 2023 event at the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands in La Paz, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, on 7 June 2023. The participants stressed the importance of food production following international standards and continuing activities such as raising awareness among producers, food processors, and consumers. Moreover, a food fair exhibited products from twelve different producers, and there were plays for children highlighting the five keys to safer [...]

The Sultanate of Oman declares its commitment to Codex and to international standards and guidelines for food safety and quality in a video recently released as part of the country’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius. The country has been a Codex Member for over 50 years and has actively participated in the development of global standards and in particular has played an active role in regional initiatives such as the Arab Codex initiative and the Gulf Cooperation [...]

The Environmental/Occupational Health and Safety Directorate of Lagos State Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Lagos State Safety Commission of Lagos State Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations marked World Food Safety Day with the theme "Food Standards Save Lives" at Mile 12 International Market, the largest market of fresh farm produce in sub-Saharan Africa. As a relevant stakeholder in the food industry, a food safety advocate and “acclaimed food evangelist”, Rasaq Oke of FOODDOTCOMACADEMY SERVICES was invited to [...]

The food safety training organization, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) Academy Nigeria (HAN) spent the week of World Food Safety Day taking their expertise to the grassroots and raising awareness about good hygiene practices in various contexts. For seven days, HAN experts talked with producers, vendors and consumers about avoiding food safety hazards. On day one of their World Food Safety Day campaign, the team visited a farm where they advised on good practices in crop production and about [...]

Dr Ailan Li, Assistant Director-General, WHO, opened the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 10-14 July 2023, calling on governments to ensure that food meets safety standards to guarantee the basic human right of people to enjoy access to safe, nutritious and healthy food. Codex sets standards based on a rigorous and inclusive scientific process with the support of FAO and WHO. Li said: “Food standards save lives. When food standards are implemented, people [...]