Safe food to consumers should not be compromised regardless of the economic standing of the country. Greg Read is First Assistant Secretary in the Exports Division of the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and also chair of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS).  Q: How does CCFICS work to ensure fair trading practices and facilitate international trade in foodstuffs, protecting at the same time the health of consumers? Read: CCFICs has developed a large [...]

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 [...]

Feed Safety Multi-stakeholder Partnership Survey on guidance material (tools, methods, manuals, etc.) on how to conduct risk assessment for feed What is the objective of the survey? The FAO facilitated Feed Safety Multi-stakeholder Partnership is conducting this survey to take stock and collect currently available material (e.g. tools, methods, manuals) on how to conduct risk assessment for feed. This is done, as part of preparing practical guidance and training materials (manual and other tools) to support the implementation of the Codex Alimentarius [...]

Contaminants are substances that have not been intentionally added to food. They can occur naturally and enter the food while a crop is growing. They can form during manufacturing, handling, storage, processing or distribution. Or they can enter the food from the environment, through our water, the air or soil. The Contaminants Committee establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels or guidelines levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed. Nearly 50 countries are expected at this 11th session which [...]

This committee establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels for individual food additives. A food additive in Codex is defined as "any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food". Adding food and colour ingredients Additives can be added during the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of a food for technological purposes.  This could be for example to colour, to sweeten or to help preserve the food. In the [...]

CCAFRICA Coordinator and Executive Committee Member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Dr. Moses Gathura Gichia has recently announced his retirement from public service and as the Coordinator of the Joint FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Africa. It has been a pleasure working alongside Codex. It was just an amazing yet a profoundly rewarding experience. Dr Gathura wished Codex "every success in shaping and mapping the global path towards a better level of protecting consumer health and fair trade practices in food”. 35 years [...]

The Codex Secretariat has published the report of the working group on AMR hosted by the UK and co-chaired by the USA and Australia that met in London from 29 November to 2 December 2016. The report is available online as a working document of the 40th Codex Alimentarius Commission which will take place in Geneva in July. Broad consensus The London meeting completed the tasks set by the 2016 Commission and carried out the initial ground work for the Codex Task Force [...]

The 10th International Feed Regulators Meeting (IFRM) organized by IFIF in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) brought together a record number of feed industry representatives and government officials from 35 countries to discuss key issues including Feed Safety Risk Management Strategies and the role of animal nutrition and feeding to minimise antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The meeting was also informed on the activities of the FAO led Multi-stakeholder Partnership for Capacity Development for Feed [...]

Earlier this week there were stories in the press that the UK Food Standards Agency is warning that overcooked starchy foods can contain acrylamide, a chemical liked to cancer. Risks during high temperature cooking Recent concern over the presence of acrylamide in food dates from 2002. Scientists reported that up to “mg/kg” quantities of acrylamide could be formed in carbohydrate-rich foods during high-temperature cooking, e.g. during frying, baking, roasting, toasting and grilling.  Acrylamide (or acrylic amide) is a chemical compound with the chemical [...]

24 Jan 2017, Rome - a delegation of senior officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries met in Rome to enhance both sides of a strong relationship that sees Japan as FAO's number two donor to FAO's regular budget behind the United States. Japan has for a number of years provided extensive support to Codex through an ongoing programme of seconded officers to the Secretariat. The specialist background these officers bring, combined with [...]