Omex Alimentaria the Mexican fresh foods company in Ayotlán, Jalisco, celebrated World Food Safety Day for the first time this year with employees and their children. The activities were organized with the aim of reinforcing the culture of safety across the organization. Juan Pablo Galindo Vázquez, Manager of Quality Management Systems and Jorge Nephtali Trinidad Sánchez, Human Capital Manager, opened the event by speaking about the importance of food safety and joint participation in the food chain. A knowledge rally was held [...]

A Regional Expert Consultation was held on 6-8 June 2023 in Amman, Jordan, to Harmonize the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) in Line with WHO Air Quality Guidelines. The consultation was organized by the Climate Change, Health and Environment unit / Healthier Populations Department/ Regional Office of the Eastern Mediterranean and attended by 40 air quality & health experts (32 in person and 8 virtual) from the ministries of health and environment, research centres, and [...]

The “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT)” project published a brochure to help individuals and organizations committed to tackling foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) play their role. The brochure is available in English and Spanish. “We believe this brochure provides valuable insights on how different stakeholders can contribute to managing foodborne AMR,” said Myoengsin Choi, FAO Food Safety Officer and ACT Project Coordinator. Considering the Codex AMR texts and the need for an “all hands on deck” approach, the publication outlines [...]

For the fifth year, WHO Country Office in Jordan, Climate Change, Health and Environment Unit / EMRO and the International Food Safety Authorities secretariat /HQ, celebrated with the Jordan Ministry of Health and the Jordan Food and Drug Administration World Food Safety Day 2023. This year'stheme “Food standards save lives”, holds a call for action for policymakers, food businesses and workplaces, educational institutions, and most importantly consumers. Drawing attention to the role of food safety standards in protecting consumers health, food [...]

On 19 June, and for the second consecutive year, fruit drinks producer, Sumol+Compal, promoted World Food Safety Day, with a talk open to all employees. The objective of the event was to promote and consolidate the culture of quality and food safety in the organization. The talk had the theme “Impact of the evolution of standards on the food industry”. There were two invited speakers, André Santos and Maria Noémia Gomes, who answered some questions about the topic of the talk. The company [...]

On June 19 and 20, 2023 the Reference Conferences of the National Food Center (CNA) of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) took place online. This is an event held annually in which the Official Food Safety Control Laboratories of Spain meet with the Competent Authorities that designate them for this official control, with the aim of sharing the latest developments of interest in the field of work of the CNA as National Reference Laboratory for 19 networks [...]

Sarah Cahill of the Codex Secretariat has received the Ivan Parkin award at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting taking place from 16-19 July 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her lecture entitled “Anatomy of a Standard” emphasized how clarity, engagement, science, impact and patience were key to developing useful and successful standards. The Ivan Parkin Lecture was established by IAFP in 1986 to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the field of food safety. Each [...]

While the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was taking place from 10-14 July 2023 in Geneva, the work of one of the expert bodies that provide scientific advice to Codex was in the news when the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) presented its comprehensive updated risk assessment of aspartame, an artificial sweetener, used in many products including diet soft drinks. The update reaffirmed the existing acceptable daily intake (ADI) level for aspartame of 0-40 mg/kg [...]

With a focus on emerging food safety challenges, Mongolia organized a consultation on the "Status and future of food standards in the country". Fifty representatives from various institutions discussed solutions and the next steps at the event on 7 June 2023 at the United Nations House in Ulaanbaatar. “Together with colleagues from ministries, laboratories, research and non-governmental organizations, food producers, universities, and media, we talked about the challenges and possible solutions to ensure food safety. For example, the lack of use [...]

Colombia celebrated World Food Safety Day 2023 with a webinar and a video by a famous young farmer to promote "Food safety is everyone's business". Almost one hundred people attended the event online on 7 June 2023, and the influencer reached over 637 000 followers on Instagram. “During the webinar, we discussed myths and truth about food safety, the importance of good farming and good agriculture practices, sanitary regulations in Colombia, the five keys to safer food, and international projects in [...]