The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) began today with a series of virtual sessions running from 20 to 29 April 2021. Welcoming delegates and speaking on behalf of the hosts India, Mr. D. Sathiyan, Secretary of the Spices Board underlined the physical, technological and logistical challenges facing the committee. “It is heartening and encouraging to note that even in the midst of this difficult situation, the Member Countries have shown tremendous interest in the spices and culinary [...]

A series of regional training webinars on food safety based on risk assessment and Codex Alimentarius Standards took place in the Republic of Kazakhstan from 7 to 9 April 2021. The webinar series was arranged by the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (CSEC) jointly with the "National Center of Expertise" at CSEC and the Codex Alimentarius Group in Kazakhstan. Participants included representatives of business operators of the Kyzylorda region, the [...]

 Malawi launched its Codex Trust Fund Project on 1 April 2021 at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe. The Minister of Health for Malawi, the Honourable Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, MP, presided over the launch of the project entitled: “Building Strong, Solid and Sustainable National Capacity to Engage in Codex”. The launch was attended by various stakeholders whose activities are related to Codex, food safety, agriculture, trade, health and human nutrition. These included Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies from Agriculture, Health, Trade, Industry [...]

On 18 March 2021, the Codex Contact Point in Guatemala presented an FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund project, that aims to strengthen Codex programmes, to national and technical committee members in Guatemala with the virtual participation of the Codex Contact Point of El Salvador. Guatemala and El Salvador have been members of the Codex Alimentarius since 1968 and 1975, respectively and both countries recognise the contribution of the Codex Alimentarius to the fulfilment of their national public health and trade objectives. Codex [...]

Food allergies may impact only parts of the world’s population, but that impact can be lethal. People with food allergies have only limited options to prevent allergic reactions, by knowing exactly what causes allergies and avoiding the particular food. In March 2021, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific published “Food allergies – Leaving no one behind”. The booklet explains that it is important to manage food allergies within local contexts. It is critical for countries to understand what [...]

Water is a dwindling resource worldwide. On World Water Day 2021, the UN World Water Development Report  2021 on 'Valuing Water' is launched and in assessing water use in agriculture, calls for the implementation of management strategies that “could maximize the multiple values of water for food production” including improving water use efficiency; reducing demand for food and its consequent water use; and improving knowledge and understanding of water use for food Not all food processors have access to safe [...]

On International Women’s Day 2021, #IWD2021, the Codex Secretariat has launched a video message on the theme of the day #ChooseToChallenge, celebrating the contribution women in the Codex family make to ensure food is safe and can be traded fairly through the food safety standards of the Codex Alimentarius. 📽️ | On #IWD2021 we celebrate women’s achievement in Codex to ensure #FoodSafety and a level playing field for trade through international standards. #InternationalWomensDay @UN_Women pic.twitter.com/98FhT4Ggpd — Codex Alimentarius (@FAOWHOCodex) March 8, 2021   To [...]

Kenya, in an effort to streamline and increase efficiency for participation in Codex work recently reconstituted its National Codex Committee. On Tuesday 2 March 2021, the Codex Contact Point, housed in the Kenya Bureau of Standards held an induction programme for the newly reconstituted committee. “This move was to ensure maximum representation from all key food safety players,” said Maryann Kindiki who is the new Codex Contact Point for Kenya. Among the issues discussed were how the Codex Alimentarius Commission [...]

Countries all over the world were watching the French Secretariat closely as the first Codex subsidiary body to meet virtually, the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP), launched the 2021 series of Codex technical meetings. The Executive Committee had already shown that meetings could be managed this way for smaller groups and the first ever virtual Commission in 2020 had demonstrated that high-level gatherings were also possible with bigger numbers – over 900 delegates registered. The next challenge however for [...]

On Friday 12 February 2021, at 16:00 (CET), 10am local time, Agrocalidad, the Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency in Ecuador will host a live Facebook broadcast to present a series of figurative cartoon characters that aim to carry key food safety messages to a wide audience. “Foodborne diseases represent a serious risk in both developed and developing countries and proper food handling can go a long way to preventing most of these,” said Rommel Betancourt, Coordinator of Food Safety [...]