Vice-minister of Health, Kazakhstan, Ms L. Aktayeva (main picture) welcomed delegates to the thirty-first session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe. "I am confident that active participation of delegates in this meeting will make a significant contribution to solving various issues in the field of food safety, which will strengthen health of people and nations", she said. Drawing on the impetus of the Sustainable Development Goals Aktayeva said, “Codex standards are directly related to food safety and fair practices in food trade” and a key tool for working towards specific SDG targets.

Mr Utegulov Arman Karimovich

Mr Utegulov Arman Karimovich, Deputy Chairperson, Ministry of Agriculture, Kazakhstan said adopting Codex standards can help countries in the region rise to meet the challenges that future trade scenarios will bring. “New trade opportunities pose new challenges to our country”, he said. The increasing globalization of international trade required “the strengthening of regional and international cooperation and interaction” and CCEURO was the ideal forum to work on such issues.

dealing with urgent problems and challenges

Ms Lyudmila Byurabekova

Ms Lyudmila Byurabekova, Chairperson of the Committee for Control over Quality and Safety of Goods and Services, Ministry of Health, Kazakhstan said: "We hope that this meeting will allow us to exchange experiences in dealing with urgent problems and challenges facing our region and jointly develop an action plan to solve them".

FAO supports much food safety work in the CCEURO region and Mr Dauren Oshakbayev, from the FAO Liaison and Partnership Office in Kazakhstan said CCEURO was a chance for all countries in the region to come together and discuss food safety and quality matters important to them. "I wish to assure you of FAO’s continuing support to strengthen the capacity of Member countries to establish and implement appropriate food safety and quality control systems", he said

strengthening collaboration across sectors and national borders

"Codex Alimentarius plays a key role in fostering and strengthening collaboration across sectors and national borders”, said Peter Souza Hoejskov, WHO Europe. Member States can work with WHO to strengthen food safety systems and “apply the risk analysis principles and procedures as defined by Codex Alimentarius for preventing, preparing for and responding to food safety incidents and emergencies”, he said.

Delegates attending CCEURO31 in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Vice-Chair Steve Wearne also addressed delegates:  "I look forward to seeing the results of the analysis of existing Codex texts on food fraud and authenticity and continuing the discussion here on what more Codex can do to ensure our international and national food control systems are fit for purpose", he said.

Read more

Follow the #CCEURO31 agenda on the Codex website with updates all week on Twitter with the hashtag #CCEURO31