At the pharmaceuticals company, Abbott Nutrition India, staff and employees celebrated World Food Safety Day this year, with a number of different activities. Over 250 team members took part in food safety discussions and listened to key messages from site leaders and messages about World Food Safety Day on the year’s theme, Safer Food, Better Health. Key staff contributors to food safety were recognized by management and a company-wide quiz saw prizes handed out to winners.  

As part of the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project, FAO Pakistan organized a national workshop on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on 24-26 October 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan. More than 50 experts representing different sectors concerned with AMR human health, animal health, agriculture, poultry, dairy and pharmaceutical industry reviewed the key areas of the AMR National Action Plan (NAP).  “We assessed the progress of the implementation, as well as engaged food and agriculture stakeholders, and identified gaps and [...]

The latest edition of the Codex magazine has been published to coincide with the 43rd Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) taking place from 21-25 November 2022 in Rome. CODEX – a year in transition, tells the story of the core activities that take place between one Commission and the next and that lead to CAC45 being able to set over 20 standards protecting consumer health and facilitating trade. Contributions from all regions, all committees and all the people in the Codex world make [...]

Food production, processing and trading technology is evolving at a rapid pace. Consequently the Codex Alimentarius Commission is expanding its set of standards to ensure that consumer health remains protected, while practices in the trade of food are fair. Today FAO/WHO are announcing the launch of a completely new series of multilingual eLearning courses on Codex accessible free of charge online and in downloadable format. “The new courses have been meticulously developed to make sure we a have an up to [...]

The 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission has agreed by a vote to adopt the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for zilpaterol, a veterinary drug used to enhance growth performance in cattle, at Step 5 in the Codex process for developing food safety standards. The Commission did not agree, also by a vote, to change its rules for this session and allow for the work to advance directly to the final Step 8  which would have paved the way for CAC45 to consider final [...]

Over 350 online delegates joined nearly 400 returning to FAO for a physical session for the first time in three years as the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) opened on 21 November 2022. QU Dongyu Director-General of FAO, welcomed participants and underlined how rapidly advancing technology has made hybrid meetings such as CAC45 possible in full transparency, ensuring no one is left behind. Science and data play a crucial role in the work of the Codex standard-setting body, he said, also making reference to the [...]

The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Steve Wearne, United Kingdom, in consultation with the Vice-Chairpersons and the Codex Secretariat has published a letter to Codex Members and Observers outlining how he intends to conduct discussions on whether the Commssion should establish maximum residue limits for zilpaterol, a veterinary drug used to enhance growth performance in cattle, at the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commssion which begins at FAO HQ in Rome, Italy on Monday 21 November 2022. CAC45 / a new format and [...]

For World Food Safety Day 2022, the Mekong Institute (MI) joined stakeholders of the national food control system in the Lao People's Democratic Republic to commemorate the importance of food safety for public and economic health. In a forum aimed at strengthening multi-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration, participants also sought to ensure enhanced awareness among consumers of the importance of safer food. MI is supporting the Lao government’s goals of advancing food safety across the country through the PROSAFE Project, a five-year initiative funded [...]

The 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) is less than two weeks away and it may be one of the most interesting gatherings in recent times. It will be the first physical meeting of CAC in 3 years and the first ever that has the option for virtual attendance – a major challenge for us in the Codex Secretariat. In addition, there is a huge interest in the Codex family to see how we can move forward on the MRLs for [...]

Members gathered in a physical setting for the first time since 2020 for the opening of the 83rd Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission being held in FAO HQ, Rome, Italy from 14-18 November 2022. Online delegates are also taking part ensuring full participation. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero welcomed delegates to the face-to-face environment which he described as “helpful when tackling the complex issues and negotiations” on their agenda. “I trust as a committee you [...]