Representing the Codex Secretariat at the OIE 86th General Session on 22 May 2018, Senior Food Standards Officer Hilde Kruse participated in a panel discussion with IGOs on “Establishing trust in the multilateral trade system through transparency and standards implementation monitoring”.

The panel included representatives from FAO, Codex Alimentarius, World Bank, WHO and WTO; considered key partner organizations having an agreement with the OIE, and centered around a discussion on “Establishing trust in the multilateral trade system through transparency and Standard’s implementation monitoring”.

Kruse explained the importance of transparency throughout the standards development process in Codex including in the use of scientific data. She said the Codex online platform for information sharing on national food safety control systems and the online systems for electronic work groups and commenting on draft standards in multiple languages were further examples of how technology can support transparency and build trust.

Hilde Kruse (Codex), 2nd left and Catherine Mulholland (WHO), 2nd right

Catherine Mulholland who administers the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund (CTF) also spoke, on behalf of WHO, and underlined how participation of all countries in international standard setting was essential to ensure transparency, to build trust between countries and to increase confidence in international food safety standards.  CTF helps build this trust, she explained, by supporting developing and transition economy countries to strengthen Codex structures at the national level, and to engage fully and effectively in setting international food safety standards.

Learn more

Codex Trust Fund web pages