In 2022 the Codex Secretariat began work on reviewing the formatting and layout of Codex texts to ensure consistency, to meet FAO and international publishing standards and to enhance readability. A digital object identifier (DOI) has also been added to standards as they are published, providing a unique reference that can support tracking and citation of each text. The project is part of the Codex Secretariat’s contribution to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The General [...]

As part of the Korea Food Safety Day campaign, the Food Regulatory Science Symposium was held on 10 May 2023 in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. The event, organized by the Korea Regulatory Science Research Center, highlighted the successful establishment of the new food regulatory science programme in universities and showcased its accomplishments. To foster human resources in the food bio-health area, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety initiated the food regulatory science support programme in 2021. Currently, three [...]

Cara Tannenbaum, Departmental Science Advisor to Health Canada, welcomed delegates to the 47th session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) taking place from 15-19 May 2023 in Gatineau, Ottawa in Canada. “Codex has served the global community well, allowing us to leverage the best possible science and evidence to support international standard setting,” she said, underling how countries consider the international labelling standards developed by the committee as they develop their own food labelling regulations and policies for [...]

Ministers and representatives of seven countries gathered in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 10-11 May 2023 to establish a ministerial level food regulators coalition in the Asia-Pacific region.  The Asia Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Summit (APFRAS) has been convened to address common challenges in the food sector such as food policy, emerging food technology and safe trade. Delegates attending first APFRAS session, Seoul 10-11 May 2023 Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea reached consensus on the [...]

On 9 May, Masanori Kotani, Vice President/Secretary General of Japan’s Food Safety Management Association (JFSM) delivered a lecture on food safety and the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) “5 keys to safer food” and “2023 theme and slogan of World Food Safety Day” to second- and third-year students at Hokkaido Shizunai Agricultural High School. Following the last year’s lecture, the session included quizzes, which helped make the food safety lessons more fun and attractive for the students. In addition, the third-year students [...]

In 2022 the Codex Secretariat began work on reviewing the formatting and layout of Codex texts to ensure consistency, to meet FAO and international publishing standards and to enhance readability. A digital object identifier has also been added to standards as they are published, providing a unique reference that can support tracking and citation of each text. The project is part of the Codex Secretariat’s contribution to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. As the Codex [...]

To raise awareness of the importance of ensuring food safety, Korea is getting ready for the 22nd Korean Food Safety Day. The celebration events will be held on 12 May 2023 in Seoul, ahead of the official day, which falls on a Sunday, on 14 May 2023, and World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2023. The slogan for this year is ’Together for food safety, healthy South Korea’. On that day Korea will announce the winners of the food safety [...]

A Korean language version of the World Food Safety Day guide has now been added to those already available in all six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). The guide, which was translated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea, has been published with over a month to go before World Food Safety Day on 7 June and ahead of the 22nd annual Food Safety Week in the Republic of [...]

Murray Watt, Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management, speaking via video message, welcomed delegates gathering in Hobart, Tasmania, and online, for the opening of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) taking place from 1-5 May 2023. Watt said that achieving sustainable productivity growth in agriculture was increasingly critical to meet global food security concerns arising from the world's growing population. It was also vital to deliver on international [...]

Speaking on Wednesday 26 Aprile, 2023, at the 22nd annual Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Conference, in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States of America, Codex Chairperson Steve Wearne said: “Our systems for standards and trade have their foundation in the creation of Codex 60 years ago and the World Trade Organization more than a quarter of a century ago.  The global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, soil, water and air quality, require us to think about how we might [...]