A Codex expert panel discussion “Is the Codex system fit for the future?” took place on Friday 20 January 2023 at the annual Global Forum for Food and Agriculture organized, in Berlin, Germany, by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).

Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General FAO, described Codex as “a public good to serve countries in defending their standards, in protecting consumers and ensuring also fair trade.” Speaking also of the need to respond to interconnected challenges in agriculture, the environment, human and animal health, she said: “We need to have a more flexible and more agile and also more ambitious Codex, maybe in the vision, in ambition, in the sense of having more new challenges integrated into Codex decisions.”

The panel discussed the role of science in Codex, whether its current governance and mandate were fit for purpose and also whether Codex was setting too many, too few and the right kinds of food safety standards as it embarks on its next 60 years.

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GFFA conference website

Photo credit ©FBMEL

Pictured (Left to right): Tom Heilandt, Kazuaki Miyagishima, Christiane Wolff, Michel Leporati, Maria Helena Semedo, Jenny Reid.