The first in a new series of “Success Stories” has been published to promote the work of the FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT) project. The story from Pakistan recounts the positive impacts of the awareness raising efforts about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that have taken place at grassroots level, where livestock carers – who are mostly women – have learnt about the need for responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials in animals. Each story [...]

The theme for World Food Safety Day, 7 June, this year is “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected,” which was chosen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network, or INFOSAN. The World Food Safety Day campaign in 2024 is inspiring preparedness on food safety, which includes in an emergency situations when it is necessary to quickly identify the nature and extent of an international outbreak, or potential outbreak, of foodborne illness. [...]

World Food Safety Day is fast approaching! If you want to hold an event or activity to help raise awareness about food safety, join us on 10 May for the World Food Safety Day Planning Webinar! Representatives of FAO and WHO, together with members of the World Food Safety Day team, are running a webinar 13:00–14:00 CEST to explain this year’s theme, “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected,” and to talk about how to inspire action to prevent, detect and manage [...]

By Funwako Dlamini, CCP for Eswatini, Milagrosa Mondlane, SWASA, Hakim Mufumbiro, Regional Coordinator CCAFRICA and John Oppong-Otoo, AU-IBAR A training session has taken place 3–5 April 2024 in Ezulwini, Eswatini, to equip national stakeholders with improved capacities as part of the country’s efforts to establish and strengthen engagement in Codex. The training was attended by 25 trainees drawn from different state and non-state actors who are part of the National Codex Committee (NCC) and who have responsibility for food safety along the [...]

A first-of-its-kind pilot surveillance study in Mongolia is coming to an end. In October 2023, as part of the FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT) project, a team of researchers from the State Central Veterinary Laboratory (SCVL) in Mongolia collected samples from cattle to look for the presence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens. The SCVL undertook this study in response to the recommendations of a Mongolia-hosted mission for the “FAO Assessment Tool [...]

Based on the recent publication, Food safety implications from the use of environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems, FAO has organized a webinar, which will take place on Thursday, 9 May 2024 from 14:30 to 15:30 CEST via Zoom, to stimulate discussion on the food safety aspects that need to be considered and addressed when using environmental inhibitors in agrifood systems.  “Among the approaches that are being developed to increase the sustainability of agrifood systems, environmental inhibitors help reduce negative impacts on the environment while improving the production [...]

The 54th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) has concluded in Chengdu, China, with some landmark agreements, and at a pivotal moment in the Committee’s workplan, according to Dr Yongxiang Fan, Professor of the China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), and Committee Chairperson. “I believe one day when we look back, CCFA54 will be seen as a remarkable starting point for the planning of future CCFA work,” he said. “We have identified the outstanding [...]

In a Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) first for the CCAFRICA region, Kenya has become Chair to the CCFA in-session working group (WG) on priorities. This is the group that establishes priority lists of food additives for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). We asked the new in-session WG Chairperson, Mr Peter Mutua, about why Kenya wanted to take on this role and what advice he has for fellow CCAFRICA Members, and the wider [...]

The 54th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) has started in Chengdu, China, with Dr Xuetao Cao, Vice Minister, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China giving an opening speech. Representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Codex all offered opening remarks before the session was set in motion with the adoption of the agenda, under the chairmanship of Dr Yongxiang Fan, Professor of the [...]

The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) has concluded its 17th session in Panama City, Panama, with the Committee Chairperson, Dr Sally Hoffer, saying she was “happy with our progress”.  She went on to say: “I would like also to highlight that we are continuously trying to better our work, so in the last three days, we have also discussed how we are doing the right things in the best possible ways and we are clearly updating our work [...]