A consultative workshop on National Codex issues was organized on 6 December 2019 in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The main objectives of the workshop were to discuss national food control systems, including Codex, and to begin preparation of a project proposal for the Codex Trust Fund. Mr Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, who officially opened the session, told the Ministry of Information website shabait.com that food safety was central to survival and wellbeing and that regulating national food standard had [...]

FAO, in cooperation with the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS), held a workshop in Alexandria from 25-27 November 2019 entitled "Supporting Codex Capacity in Egypt" to strengthen the structure and program of Codex in Egypt, to improve the food import control system in the country in order to facilitate trade and ensure food safety. Workshop: "Supporting Codex Capacity in Egypt" The three-day workshop took place in the context of the public/private partnership, under the supervision of the Egyptian Codex Contact [...]

In Düsseldorf, Germany an extended session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) with nearly 400 delegates in attendance, kicked off Sunday 24 November 2019. Speaking via a video message Julia Klöckner, German Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, said that with over 820 million people still suffering from hunger whilst at the same time almost a third of the global population is affected by excess weight and obesity, nutrition and health policies [...]

In the week that WHO urges action to increase physical activity levels in girls and boys aged 11 to 17 years and reports that more than 80% of school-going adolescents globally do not meet current recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day, it is timely that the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) is meeting from 24 to 29 November in Duesseldorf, Germany. Purwiyatno Hariyadi, Indonesia, Vice-chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission [...]

With new staff constantly rotating through the 189 Codex Contact Points (CCPs) around the globe, bringing a national Codex team’s skill set up to date is an essential part of a CCP’s duties if comments on Codex texts by national experts are to be submitted online and on time. The Codex Secretariat recently delivered a webinar training on electronic working groups (EWGs) and the online commenting system (OCS), catching the Australian team early in the morning just as in Codex HQ [...]

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met today with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, together with three Vice Chairpersons – Mariam Eid from Lebanon, Purwiyatno Hariyadi from Indonesia and Steve Wearne from the United Kingdom. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu (right) with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission   Guilherme da Costa said: "The Director-General expressed strong support for the work of Codex and for the importance of science-based international food standards."   Codex activities should be more visible, tangible and [...]

Understanding Codex for a member country or observer organization also means being able to use the online systems that manage the standard setting process. If you are unable to take part in electronic working groups or post your national position via comments online then your voice will not be heard, and you will not learn the views of others. The Codex Secretariat has held training sessions in different regions and regularly showcases Codex online tools at the Commission and during [...]

Jenny Scott is Senior Advisor in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She co-chaired the working group on the proposed draft code of practice on food allergen management for food business operators. Jenny explains the importance of the work on allergens. Jenny Scott co-chaired the Codex work on allergens with Australia and the UK  “Food allergies are an increasing food safety issue globally, resulting in many food recalls (approximately 1/3 of food recalls [...]

Dr. Mindy Brashears, the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. addressed delegates gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA for the 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. Brashears emphasized in her welcome address that with food safety policies being constantly updated, such meetings were important “to help foster partnerships that can lead to modernization and new policies for food safety and international food standards”. Dr. Mindy Brashears, Deputy Under Secretary for Food [...]

As the Codex food hygiene committee (CCFH) begins deliberations in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, delegations from around the world have emphasised the importance of one of the main items on the agenda. The revision of the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene (GPFH), has been described by Udo Wiemer from Germany as “the most important item of the upcoming session”. In many countries the Codex text forms the basis of national legislation. “In Indonesia GPFH are adopted identically to be [...]