The Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) will take place next week, 13-18 May 2024, in Budapest. As the meeting approaches we spoke to Attila Nagy, Chairperson of CCMAS43, a veterinarian and microbiologist. In this interview Attila talks about the agenda of the Committee, the unique role of Observers and the traditions of CCMAS.

Attila, thank you for your time. This is the fourth time for you to chair CCMAS. How would you describe the work of this Committee? 

Similar to our daily laboratory work, in the case of Codex standards our task is also to provide the background and the framework for control and measurement options. Most of the rules and regulations require sampling and laboratory professionals to evaluate compliance. This is the basis of three important fields: i) self-inspection, which is the background of commercial relationships; ii) quality assurance systems that supervise this connection as an external party; and iii) of course, also the official control system.

And why is it relevant for other Codex Committees? 

As I mentioned, a significant part of the rules and regulations must be measured. Since all participants in the Codex voluntary system must prove - to themselves and their partners - the appropriate quality and safety of the products, we must propose a sampling and testing method for each rule and condition. That is why CCMAS was established only two years after the creation of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Since its establishment, we have continuously worked together with all the Codex subsidiary bodies, from commodity committees to the horizontal/general subject and regional committees.

Codex Observers play a unique role in CCMAS. Can you tell us more about that?

Due to the character of our work a specific collaboration with Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) has been formed, for which the Inter-Agency Meeting (IAM) provides the formal framework. It is a very valuable help for us, and especially for me, that all the major SDOs are represented in the work of CCMAS and in the plenary sessions. Their work and deep professional knowledge are the basis on which we can gather the proposed methods and requirements for the tests. It is a special pleasure that this network is ready to help us at any time, not only during the sessions in Budapest. Our role, and especially mine, is to continue the long-lasting tradition of CCMAS with their help, making room for modern technologies and new risks, and I believe we can achieve these goals in the most effective way by working with organizations that develop standards.

Talking about CCMAS43, what do you see as highlights or key issues on the agenda this year? 

This year we will discuss some long standing items on the agenda of CCMAS: the revision of our standard CXS-234, the endorsement of new methods or conditions related to the new regulations, and the presentation and implementation of the e-book and the application which is being prepared for the General Guidelines on Sampling (CXG 50-2004). In addition, we will resume the work that has already begun to create a database containing the methods, and the lists in standard CXS-234 which must be unified and simplified, including the products, the parameters to be measured, etc.

However, we will also start new work: we have acknowledged the increasing importance of allergens, and we would like to support the measurement tasks related to labelling by methods. It can be already foreseen that this will be an extremely difficult task, but it is very important to help those affected by determining which allergen can be tested by which method in a way which certainly does not pose a danger to the health of the consumer.

One of the items on the agenda is about methods of analysis for precautionary allergen labelling. Can you tell us more about it and how would this work help to protect consumer health?

As I just mentioned, in supporting the work of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL), CCMAS is now also tasked with developing the testing background for allergens. The joint work begins with the creation of the list of allergens, since the range of regulated allergens varies from region to region. We need to collect professional information for these lists including, for example, in the case of each allergen, which molecule or molecules cause a health problem. And the essential part is: in what quantity do they cause symptoms in sensitive people? To know this information, we have to consult with the producers through the SDOs, to understand how we can measure these molecules or their indicators, and how we can guarantee a safe level in the products. This work has now started with experts from CCMAS Member Countries.

And what other work do you envisage for the future of the Committee? 

During the plenary, I would like to launch a consultation with the delegates who will join our work physically or virtually about new challenges for the future of CCMAS. Personally, I also have a "mission": the digitalization of CXS-234 and the collection of all Codex methods.

Creating the database is a very important task for me. I think that – similar to the other four thematical-professional fields – we need to create an interactive, searchable information database that is immediately and easily accessible during our everyday work. We are already working to reach this goal together with the Codex Secretariat. In addition, since I work with official laboratories during my daily work, it is important for me to give suggestions and recommendations for evaluating the results. It is possible to develop proposals, recommendations or rules in several areas of laboratory work, due to this reason we would like to review and update other CCMAS standards as well.

Do you have any messages for delegates attending CCMAS43? 

"Please join us!" As usual, I ask and encourage everyone to participate in the working processes. CCMAS is a committee which collects laboratory experts: we have very different qualifications and technical opportunities, but the love for the “white coat” connects us all when we get together every year, as well as during the year when we do the necessary professional work. Anyone who will join us will find a professional connection in every region, in every stage of the product line and in every field of measurement task. For me this diversity is the most exciting thing in this work (of course, measurement uncertainty follows immediately after this line in my favourites list).

One final question: delegates describe CCMAS as “a family within the Codex family”, with its own traditions and habits. Do you share the same feeling? 

Certainly! The week of the session always starts with 2 traditional meetings: first, the SDOs meet in the framework of the IAM, then we finalize the professional work related to the CXS-234 in the physical working group meeting. After the formal opening, as I’ve unofficially always said: we take off our ties and continue our professional work in a more informal, relaxed way. It is a great pleasure for me that the expert colleagues who help us with their work chairing the eWGs also support us, so we can do our work in a friendly atmosphere. The Codex, as a whole, seeks consensus, and in the case of CCMAS we have always been able to achieve it, since we are all laboratory professionals who speak the same language. Even if we do this in several languages, thanks to the often nearly impossible work of interpreters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to an incidental idea and without consulting each other, my American colleague Greg Noonan and I each shared a typical Hungarian soup recipe as a frame and a humorous background of our presentations. Since then, "soup" has become the signature of our CCMAS family. I would like to continue using this topic this year as well.

Read more

CCMAS43 webpage