A webinar held on 14 July 2020 entitled ‘Joint Action on COVID-19: Boosting our Global Response’, presented the seven main intervention areas that FAO has developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis with a clear message that business as usual is not a possibility. If we carry on as usual we will see major loss of life. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told participants that with 4.5 billion people dependent on food systems for their jobs and livelihoods it was time for FAO [...]

In an historic moment for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Executive Committee (CCEXEC) began its 79th meeting online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Spread over seven days (13-20 July 2020) and four online sessions, the committee will examine standards for adoption and proposals for new work from those committees that were able to meet before travel became impossible in March this year and all subsequent Codex meetings were cancelled. The recommendations of the CCEXEC will go forward for consideration [...]

by Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) Secretariat Towards the end of 2019, a new strain of coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2, which showed unprecedented virulence and severity, was reported from Wuhan, China. Within about three months, the number of confirmed cases of infection, called COVID-19, had soared and the virus had spread to many countries across the world with exponentially rising infection and death rates. The outbreak was then declared a global health emergency, and on 11th March 2020, WHO [...]

Members from the Latin American and the Caribbean region met online on 17 June 2020 to discuss and share their views about Codex, the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and identify the best practices to carry on the work of committee ahead of the next session. Diego Varela, Chile, Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC), said that after working very actively on the follow-up to CCLAC21 through the Codex web forum, the countries of [...]

Today, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt confirmed that for the first time a formal Codex meeting will be convened as a virtual meeting. Following extensive discussions with FAO and WHO, a proposal for convening its next session virtually was made to the membership of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, indicating that this could only go forward with the support of a majority of the Membership. The CCEXEC Members have responded positively and CCEXEC79 will now convene virtually on [...]

Science and Codex guidelines help food businesses By Leon Gorris, Secretary of the International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF) Ensuring food safety is a public health priority and an essential step to achieving food security. While we are celebrating World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2020, we remind ourselves that food safety is everyone’s business. We all play a role, e.g. food growers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers. Around the globe about 7 Million people have been infected by the coronavirus disease: [...]

Members from one of the most diverse regions in Codex met online on 26 May 2020 to review the status of the disrupted Codex meeting schedule and explore how to best proceed with work in the committee ahead of the next session. Timothy Tumukon, Vanuatu, Regional Coordinator, for the Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific (CCNASWP), said attendance from around the globe “showed the commitment from all countries to work of Codex and food safety, especially in [...]

The six regional committees are the backbone of the international dimension of the Codex Alimentarius and an early warning system for global food safety issues. In this episode of the Codex podcast the regional coordinators discuss COVID, the importance of food safety standards and opportunities for new ways of working. Guests: Mohammad Hussein AliAbadi (Iran), Sunil Bakshi (India),  Nailya Karsybiekova (Kazakhstan), Kimutai Maritim (Kenya), Diego Varela (Chile)   UNFAO · COVID-19: the regional view on Codex and food safety   Read more Visit the COVID-19 thematic [...]

Mary Kenny, FAO food safety and consumer protection officer for the Europe and Central Asia region spoke in a recent interview from Budapest about how all those involved in food safety will need to adapt in order to maintain the safety and integrity of the food supply chain and support international trade. Read the full interview here on the FAO regional web pages. Photo credit © UN Ukraine/Volodymyr Shuvayev       

Many of the Codex technical committees are exploring how to continue working on specific topics in the absence of physical meetings without losing an entire year. The Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), hosted by China, met online on 21 May 2020 with the countries leading electronic working groups in the committee to address concerns from member countries and observers on how CCFA can continue to manage its standard development work effectively. Commenting on the outcome of those discussions, chairperson Yongxiang [...]