There are four candidates standing to be one of three new Vice-Chairpersons of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in elections which will take place by secret ballot in Geneva on Thursday 11 November 2021. The Codex membership agreed to proceed with elections even though the forty-fourth Commission is meeting virtually and a procedure has been put in place to ensure that Codex Members vote through an official physically present in their Geneva Mission or by appointing a proxy. About the candidates (pictured left [...]

Steve Wearne, Director, Global Affairs with the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom, has been elected to serve as the 20th Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission following historical in-person voting in Geneva during a virtual session of the 44th Commission. Past Officers of the Commission and Members of the Executive Committee (1963-2021) With 131 votes cast, Steve Wearne received 91 preferences with Vice-Chairpersons Purwiyatno Hariyadi, Indonesia and Mariam Eid, Lebanon receiving  22 and 16 votes respectively. “We have a lot of [...]

Mariam Eid, Lebanon; Purwiyatno Hariyadi, Indonesia and Steve Wearne, United Kingdom – the serving Vice-Chairpersons – have all put their names forward to be on the ballot paper for elections to be the next Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission which will take place by secret ballot in Geneva on Tuesday 9 November 2021. The Codex membership agreed to proceed with elections even though the forty-fourth Commission is meeting virtually and a procedure has been put in place to ensure that [...]

“Codex benefits almost everyone around the world, even though most people will never hear of it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, greeting over 600 online delegates at the opening of the forty-fourth session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is being held virtually from 8 to 18 November 2021. Tedros went on to underline the critical role Codex standards play in improving the safety and quality of food, protecting and promoting consumer health and nutrition, and protecting fair [...]

CAC44 kicks off on Monday 8 November 2021. While the session is mainly virtual, one agenda item, Elections, will have a physical element – voting will take place through an in-person secret ballot in Geneva. This year the incumbent Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons have all reached the end of their terms. “We must extend a huge thanks to our outgoing Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons” says Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary. “With the COVID pandemic we had to suspend elections last year so they have [...]

Welcoming participants to the 81st session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director-General WHO, said the past year has shown the critical place and role of food safety and healthy diets in the development agenda, as well as the important results that can be achieved together and in partnership. “Regarding Codex, you know very well the critical role of its standards and guidelines in ensuring safety and quality of food commodities to improve consumer [...]

In China, food is clearly a top priority – and food safety is seen as fundamental to the country, and to people’s livelihoods and wellbeing. As such, a series of activities were designed by authorities in China to promote public understanding of relevant issues, in recognition of both World Food Day in October 2021 and World Food Safety Day, which was celebrated on 7 June. At Tianjin University of Science and Technology (TUST), members of the faculty of the College of [...]

Guyana launched its Codex Trust Fund (CTF) Project on 6 October, 2021 following a two-day training programme for the National Codex Committee (NCC) members. The launch, which was held at the Cara Lodge in Georgetown, was marked by the presence of Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Blair, Advisor on CARICOM Agriculture Food Systems, Ms. Carol Thomas, Guyana’s CTF Project Consultant (Semester 1), Dr. Jean Seme Fils Alexandre, Representative from PAHO/WHO, Mr. Wilmot Garnett, IICA [...]

Malaysian Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, opened the 27th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO), which is being hosted virtually from Kuala Lumpur, underlining the importance of the work of the committee. With total production of fats and oils increasing by over 40 percent in the last 10 years, reaching estimated volumes of 215 million tonnes for the 17 major edible fats and oils in 2020, “the role of CCFO remains pertinent … demand for fats and [...]

Hakim Mufumbiro, Uganda Regional Coordinator CCAFRICA A total of 14 Member States within the Economic Community of West African States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo) participated in an online training on Codex Electronic Working (EWG) Platform and Online Commenting System (OCS) as one of the capacity building activities to enhance the skill and knowledge of stakeholders in the region in order to better engage and participate [...]