World Standards Day is marked every year on 14 October and in 2023 the theme is: “shared vision for a better world: Incorporating SDG 3”. Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all. As the FAO/WHO international food standards setting body, Codex Alimentarius supports the World Standards Day vision for “a world that is better, fairer, and more sustainable, prioritizing the well-being and health of all”.

When implemented, international food standards play a vital role in the prevention, detection and management of foodborne diseases. As such, Codex helps countries achieve SDG3 and work towards a secure, safe and nutritious food supply for all.

“The safety, quality, and provenance of the food we consume must be a matter of wide consensus,” said Moez Sanaa, Unit Head of Standards and Scientific Advice on Food and Nutrition at WHO. “The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization founded the Codex Alimentarius programme to establish a globally accepted food code based on scientific evidence that puts the health of consumers first. Implementing standards from farm to table ensures that food is consumed safely.”

In a short, pre-recorded video address for a World Standards Day event organized by the National Standardization Agency of Indonesia, Codex Alimentarius Commission Chairperson, Steve Wearne, said: “Perhaps without realizing it, you have trusted everyone involved in growing, processing, packaging, distributing and preparing your food in the right way so that you can enjoy it […] Your food is safe and your trust is justified because the people involved in making your food - whether close to your home or on the other side of the world - followed established food safety practices, which are transparently available in the form of Codex food standards. In other words, Codex food standards form the bedrock of trust and protection for all of us.”

📽️ | "Codex food standards form the bedrock of trust and protection for all of us".

- @SteveWearne, CAC Chairperson

➕ℹ️➡️ https://t.co/EaJSwYXyC9#WorldStandardsDay | #FoodSafety pic.twitter.com/wmTgfmH9hu

— Codex Alimentarius (@FAOWHOCodex) October 14, 2023

Markus Lipp, FAO Senior Food Safety Officer, highlighted the importance of Codex standards saying that "The Codex Alimentarius Commission provides the text necessary for the food safety community to set international, science-based food safety standards. Codex Alimentarius serves in this capacity as the international reference point promoting food safety for all and fair practices in international trade, in line with FAO’s strategic plan of achieving better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life".

New and updated standards will be adopted at this year’s Codex Alimentarius Commission in November.

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46th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission CAC46
Food standards save lives - World Food Safety Day 2023