The China International Food Safety & Quality (CIFSQ) Conference is currently underway in Beijing, China 30 to 31 October 2019. CIFSQ brings together 700 regulators, scientists, industry executives, and academics to share insights on food safety and protecting public health. The conference focuses on addressing critical food safety issues and seeks through dialogue and collaboration to identify advances in science, standards and the latest developments in innovative technologies that can serve governments and industry in safeguarding food. Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt Tom [...]

The Codex Twitter account @FAOWHOCodex commonly uses the hashtag #CodexFamily♥ but this light-hearted symbol of friendship and unity took on a new meaning last week as disruptions in Santiago forced the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) to end early after only two half days of deliberation. Codex, where the world comes together and looks after each other. With uncertainty surrounding personal safety and a curfew imposed each day in the city, the Chilean secretariat worked tirelessly to [...]

Delegates from 16 member countries are gathered in Santiago, Chile 22 to 25 October, 2019 for the 21st FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for the Latin America and the Caribbean region (CCLAC). Diego Varela, Chairperson of the committee and International Affairs Coordinator at the Chilean Agency for Food Safety and Quality (ACHIPIA), extended a warm welcome to those present recalling the importance of collaboration and communication within countries to address food safety and trade issues in the region. Based on science. Marisa Caipo, Food Safety [...]

The Codex European region comprises 52 countries with widely diverse economic, historic and climatic backgrounds as well as differing levels of experience in engaging with Codex. Many countries in the region joined Codex in the early 1960s at the birth of the Codex Alimentarius and some, especially from the East European region only became members since 2000. One of these is Kazakhstan, a Codex member since 2003, now leads the region as Regional Coordinator. From 4 to 8 February 2019 a [...]

Twenty representatives from Codex Contact Points (CCP) in the North America and Southwest Pacific region met in Port Vila, Vanuatu on 28-30 October 2018 for a workshop on the online systems that are an essential part of contributing to Codex standard-setting. Participants also came together to discuss regional input to the Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and to continue work on two regional Codex standards, for noni juice and kava, both local beverages. The countries present were Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States [...]

Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary, welcomed the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Pawan Agarwal and other representatives of FSSAI to the Codex Secretariat at FAO in Rome last week for a round table discussion on broad themes of mutual interest. Codex India is hosted by FSSAI and has lead the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) since its inception in 2014. India is also the current regional coordinator for the Asia region and extremely [...]

Constanza Vergara and Claudio Canales of the Chilean Codex Committee (ACHIPIA) used a methodology that combines science with creativity to build the capacity of food safety risk managers and communicators to analyse risks in a workshop on 28-30 August in Santo Domingo. The training session was part of the twinning programme of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) aimed at strengthening the Codex Alimentarius in the region. "We believe that the experience of Chile will be very useful to [...]

The Codex Secretariat held a webinar in conjunction with the WHO Country office, in which the Mongolian Codex Contact Point and colleagues had the opportunity to improve their knowledge of the Online Commenting System (OCS) and digital platform for Electronic Working Groups (eWG). Participants actively engaged in the hands-on session by asking questions and interacting with the Codex Secretariat afterward. The documents used during the training can be downloaded and other relevant materials may be requested of the trainers. “A beneficial experience” – [...]

A seminar, "Codex Alimentarius in Portugal", was held on 22 June in Lisbon for agri-food sector experts, public and private, including competent authorities and public bodies, associations of different production chains, universities and laboratories. Issues related to Portuguese participation in the elaboration of EU positions in Codex were discussed, with the division of competences between EU Member States and the European Commission. The main issues under discussion in each of the 19 Codex Committees were also presented by the different national [...]

Andean government representatives discussed on 7-8 March 2018 in Quito, Ecuador the challenges they face and the successes they celebrate in setting international standards used in trading plant products and food internationally. Contact points, representing members of the Codex Alimentarius and parties to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), shared their experiences while seeking ways to boost subregional cooperation during a workshop, convened by the Secretariats of the two UN organizations and Corporación IG-DE. Over the course of two days, standards [...]