The updated General Standard for Food Additives database is now online
The General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) describes the conditions under which food additives may be used in all foods. It is the biggest document in the Codex Alimentarius and is updated each time the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopts new maximum levels (MLs) for the use of relevant food additives.
Codex’s Food Standards Officer, Lingping Zhang, has this week distributed the update of the related GSFA database, an online tool that makes food additive MLs more accessible to Members. She has [...]
15 February 2024
CCFO28/ Interview with the Chairperson: “I look forward to a fruitful meeting in Kuala Lumpur!”
The 28th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 19–23 February. As the meeting approaches, we spoke to Ms Norrani Eksan, Chairperson of this Codex subsidiary body. Appointed as CCFO Chairperson in 2020, Norrani is the Senior Director for Food Safety and Quality at the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Norrani, thanks for your time. Sixty years ago, a small drop of oil started a ripple called CCFO. Can you tell us more about [...]
13 February 2024
International Day for Women and Girls in Science: You are capable and will succeed!
Dr Evelyne Mbandi is the new Chairperson for the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and a strong advocate for young women who want to pursue careers in the sciences. In recognition of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, we asked Dr Mbandi how she became a scientist and why and how we should support young women who want to follow a scientific path.
Q. Evelyne, can you tell us about where you grew up and how you came [...]
11 February 2024
World Pulses Day: celebrating powerful nutrients for soils and people – safely!
On 10 February, the FAO-hosted World Pulses Day will “raise public awareness about pulses and the fundamental role they play in the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.”
Defined by FAO as “the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for both food and feed,” pulses include dry beans, lentils, dry peas and chickpeas. They are grown, eaten and traded the world [...]
08 February 2024
Atelier de validation de l’étude sur l’utilisation des normes du Codex Alimentarius au Benin
Le 6 février 2024 a eu lieu dans la salle de la Direction de l’Elevage à Cotonou (Bénin), l’atelier de validation de l’étude sur l’utilisation des normes du Codex Alimentarius au Benin. Cet atelier a regroupé les membres du Comité National du Codex Alimentarius, les acteurs des secteurs privé et public utilisateurs de normes, les associations de consommateurs. Cette étude a pour objectif général de connaître le niveau d’appropriation des normes internationales Codex. De manière spécifique, il s’est agi d’identifier [...]
07 February 2024
New videos demonstrate the impacts of the Codex Trust Fund
The Codex Trust Fund (CTF) supports low- and middle-income countries to participate more effectively in the work of Codex. The Fund is currently supporting over 30 projects across the world that will bolster national Codex structures and improve capacities to provide scientific data, to contribute to meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), its subsidiary bodies and working groups, and to ensure countries benefit from their membership of Codex to protect consumer health and increase access to fair trade.
The CTF [...]
05 February 2024
CCSCH7 concludes first Codex meeting of the year and forwards three new standards for adoption
The seventh meeting of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7), which is hosted by the Government of India, has concluded in Kochi, Kerala, India, with agreement to forward three texts to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption, and to start new work on four different spices or culinary herbs.
The Committee agreed to forward to CAC47 for final adoption the draft standard for dried small cardamom (at Step 8), the draft standard for spices in the form [...]
02 February 2024
CCSCH7 underway / Experts meet to discuss spice and culinary herbs in India
Codex Members and Observers gathered today for the seventh session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7) in Kochi, Kerala, India. Dr. Shri. Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce of India, welcomed the participants recalling that “India took the lead of establishing this committee ten years ago, in 2013”. During the opening ceremony, Ms Hilde Kruse, Senior Food Standards Officer with the Codex Secretariat, recognized the importance of the work carried out by [...]
29 January 2024
CCSCH7 / “Preparation, transparency, collaboration and inclusiveness” - Dr M. R. Sudharshan gears up for CCSCH
The Seventh Session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7), 29 January – 2 February 2024, Kochi, Kerala, India, will open the 2024 cycle of meetings of Codex Subsidiary Bodies. We sat down with M.R. Sudharshan, Chairperson of CCSCH, to talk about the Committee, its current and future work, and the tasteful and colorful world of spices.
Q. Sri Sudharshan, thank you for your time. CCSCH is the most recently formed commodity committee in Codex and you have been [...]
18 January 2024
In ACTion during WAAW 2023/ Highlights from six countries
The "Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT)" project leveraged World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2023 as an opportunity to highlight the key role of prevention in tackling the issue of drug-resistant infections transmitted through food. During WAAW 2023 the ACT project supported the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Mongolia, Nepal, and Pakistan to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and foster collaboration with stakeholders.
Bolivia and Colombia prioritized strengthening inter-institutional work
In coordination with the government agencies, FAO [...]
09 January 2024
Categories
- (11)
- (19)
- (15)
- (3)
- Animal Feed (8)
- Antimicrobial Resistance (43)
- Antimicrobial Resistance (84)
- Codex Texts (18)
- Codex Trust Fund (1)
- Contaminants (13)
- Contaminants (10)
- COVID-19 (64)
- Elections (6)
- Food Safety (130)
- Labelling (12)
- Monitoring (9)
- Nutrition and Labelling (6)
- Nutrition and Labelling (7)
- Observers (26)
- Pesticides (9)
- Standards (82)
- World Food Safety Day (162)