The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Mrs Awilo Ochieng Pernet joined the General Director of the Kazakhstan National Center of Expertise (KZ-NCE) Mr Kanat Balykbayev to run the Almaty Marathon in Kazakhstan on 23.4.2017.

Almaty Marathon in Kazakhstan

The “Codex Runners” were supported by an outstanding “Codex Almaty Marathon Team” led by the Director of the Almaty Branch of the KZ-NCE Mr Sanat Saptaev and his Deputy-Director Mr Jumash Sandykbayev. The project to have a “Codex Team” at the 42 Km race in Almaty this year was an objective that they had jointly agreed upon on the occasion of the 30th Session of the FAO/WHO Codex Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe (CCEURO) which took place in Astana (Kazakhstan) from 3rd to 7th October 2016.

The Codex Chairperson with the General Director of the KZ-NCE Mr Kanat Balykbayev and the Deputy-Director of the KZ-NCE Almaty Branch, Mr Jumash Sandykbayev and some staff members at the KZ-NCE Almaty Branch premises

Prior to the race, the Codex Chairperson visited the Almaty Branch of the KZ-NCE where she met with several specialists responsible for, among others, the hygiene, microbiology and contaminants analyses and epidemiology activities.

After crossing the 42 Km Finish Line, the Codex Chairperson expressed her gratitude and deep appreciation for having had the opportunity to participate in the Almaty Marathon. She also commended the organisers of the Almaty Marathon on the excellent staging of the event and she thanked the numerous volunteers who attended readily to each runner’s needs.

A common goal

The Codex Chairperson praised the solidarity amongst the Almaty Marathon participants and drew the parallel with Codex. She indicated that Codex Members from all regions should collaborate with each other in a similar manner and foster inter-regional and intra-regional cooperation and partnerships on Codex and food safety as the entire Codex Membership shares one common goal: to develop Codex food safety, nutrition and food quality standards in order to protect the health of the world’s consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

The Codex Chairperson sincerely acknowledged the hospitality and kind assistance provided to her by the “Codex Almaty Marathon Team” and she thanked the Team members for having enabled her to have such a memorable and unforgettable experience at the Almaty Marathon in Kazakhstan.