In October 2019 the 21st FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for the Latin America and the Caribbean region (CCLAC) was interrupted after only two half days of discussions as demonstrations in Santiago, Chile forced the hosts to suspend the session. The region agreed to continue working electronically to complete the agenda and this work has culminated in an online session for report adoption that took place on 11 May 2020 with over 50 participants from 20 countries. Welcoming delegates to the online adoption, [...]

The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Guilherme da Costa, Brazil, has written to FAO suggesting the cancellation of the 43rd Codex Alimentarius Commission session planned for July 2020 in Rome and to explore the opportunity to hold an online Executive Committee session to ensure that standard setting work can continue. In the communication, Da Costa expresses his concern that expert delegations will not be able to gather in Rome for the Commission not only due to global travel restrictions currently [...]

The coronavirus outbreak has interrupted the schedule of physical meetings in Codex and led to a rethink of how countries within the Codex community, with its continuous cycle of committees and working groups, can stay connected when international meetings seem off the agenda for the time being. On Tuesday 21 April 48 participants from 18 countries in the Codex CCAFRICA region, together with representatives from the African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the Economic Community of West African States, [...]

Members of the Codex Executive Committee met up via online video conferencing technology for an informal meeting on 2 April 2020. Discussions revolved around the subsidiary body meetings that have either been cancelled or postponed and how to maintain the momentum of standards development work that is already underway. The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Guilherme da Costa, Brazil, said: “This is a completely unexpected situation for us when we take a look at our field of work. Producers, transporters, [...]

COVID-19 and the related response from governments across the globe has led to the postponement or cancellation of numerous Codex subsidiary body meetings scheduled to be held in 2020. However, food safety remains an important issue and the Codex Secretariat is working together with Host Secretariats, Chairs of Committees and Chairs/Vice-Chairs of Electronic Working Groups (EWGs) to ensure that the standards development work can continue even if the committees cannot meet this year. Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary confirmed that electronic working groups [...]

The host secretariat of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) has confirmed that the upcoming session, due to be held in San Diego, USA from 25-29 May 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19. In collaboration with the Codex Secretariat, discussions are underway to explore if the meeting could be rescheduled for early 2021 at the same location. Further details on new dates and on the work of the committee will be published [...]

Секретариат Кодекса по согласованию с секретариатами в странах, принимающих Комитет Кодекса по загрязняющим примесям в пищевых продуктах (CCCF), Комитет Кодекса по системам контроля и сертификации импорта и экспорта пищевых продуктов (CCFICS) и Комитет Кодекса по методам анализа и отбора проб (CCMAS), уведомляет об отмене сессий данных комитетов в связи со сложившейся из-за вспышки COVID-19 ситуации. "Учитывая усугубление ситуации, нам необходимо было дать однозначный ответ всем, кто обеспечивал подготовку этих сессий и готовился принять в них участие. С каждым из принимающих секретариатов [...]

Madagascar is continuing its efforts to build the capacity of its members with the support of the Codex Trust Fund. A four-day training workshop in Antananarivo from 24-27 February 2020 set out to integrate new members and provide a refresher for more experienced members. The workshop also dealt with the redefinition of priority committees for Madagascar, the formulation of national positions, preparation for sessions as well as the use of online Codex tools. After this training, Madagascar will further improve [...]

Over 1 000 food safety stakeholders from around the world gathered in Seattle, USA this week for the 2020 Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Conference, which also marked the 20th anniversary for the GFSI. Action is more urgent than ever. Addressing the conference, Peter Freedman, Managing Director of the Consumer Goods Forum said 2020 marked a moment of change in governance and strategy for GFSI. “Action is more urgent than ever”, he said, citing the climate advocate Greta Thunberg. “Our agenda remains [...]

To strengthen Cambodia’s capacity for better and more effective participation in Codex work, FAO in collaboration with the General Directorate of CAMCONTROL, Ministry of Commerce organized a training workshop from 18- 20 February 2020. The training is part of a wider five year programme sponsored by Japan which supports capacity building for international food safety standard development and implementation for ASEAN countries.  A total of 40 officials from various sectors including government officials from CAMCONTROL, (the national Codex Contact Point), relevant ministries, [...]