The 4th Global Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (GCFA) will take place September 24–25 2024, in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. Hosted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) since 2021, the conference aims to raise awareness about foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to call for concrete action. The FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT) project, will be presented at this year's conference, which is a demonstration of Korea's efforts to [...]

The 27th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS27) has opened in Cairns, Australia, With remote participation possible for all plenary sessions. “It is my great pleasure and honour to be the new Chairperson of CCFICS and to have the task of guiding the Committee through its 27th meeting,” said the newly appointed Chairperson, Tom Black, Australia, who introduced the speakers that opened the meeting. Welcome remarks were given by Gavin Singleton, Yirrganydji Traditional [...]

 By the Codex Contact Points of the European Union, France, Germany and the United States of America A high-level event titled “Celebrating Codex Alimentarius: A U.S.-EU Commitment to Safe Food” took place on 5th September at the French Embassy to the United States of America. The unprecedented gathering was jointly organized by the United States, the European Union, France, and Germany to provide a platform for the transatlantic partners to reflect on their collaboration and reaffirm their commitment to upholding international [...]

In a bid to help countries address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), FAO developed an Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2021–2025. The Plan outlines five key areas of focus – of which one aims at supporting countries to strengthen surveillance and research for evidence-based decisions on AMR in the food and agriculture sectors. This work is now aided by the newly launched International FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring (InFARM) system, which helps countries improve capacities to collect, collate, analyse, [...]

A pre-session webinar has been organized in advance of the upcoming 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) to give delegates the chance to better understand how to actively participate in the meeting, which will be held in Cairns, Australia, with virtual participation also possible via Zoom. The webinar will be moderated by the Codex Secretariat, who will introduce the new CCFICS Chairperson, Tom Black, a regular and well-known contributor to CCFICS [...]

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) had a busy 2024 World Food Safety Day, much of it focused on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed The Future EatSafe project, which concluded in July 2024. The Alliance focused on the key message around the theme of this year’s campaign, including the importance of effective communication, multisectoral collaboration, food safety plans, and shared responsibilities, which tied in well with the findings coming out of EatSafe on how best [...]

The World Food Safety Day call this year to “prepare for the unexpected” was taken up by food safety advocates the world over, in an indication that the Day continues to inspire action on food safety. For six years, the World Food Safety Day campaign has reinforced the message that “food safety is everyone’s business” and the hundreds of events organized on or around the 7 June observance this year amplified that message loud and clear. This year, though, owners, [...]

The Ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meets this week, to review progress on a cluster of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was one of the entities invited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to submit information for this review, in an indication of the impact Codex work has at a global level. The request for information underlines the significance of Codex work to the Sustainable Development Agenda [...]

In opening remarks to the 86th session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC86), taking place at FAO Headquarters 1-5 July 2024, Maria-Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, FAO, recalled "the longstanding statutory purpose of Codex to protect consumer health and facilitate fair practices in the food trade", and that this "remains the valid and noble purpose of the Codex Alimentarius". Noting the work of CCEXEC which includes discussions on the new Codex Strategic Plan for 2026-2031 she added that [...]

With the 86th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC86) starting next week at FAO HQ, Rome, the Codex Secretariat sat down with the Chairperson, Steve Wearne (United Kingdom), to talk about the Committee, its current and future work and the status of the new Codex Strategic Plan. Steve, thanks for your time. Let’s start from the basics. Can you explain to our general audience, what is the role of CCEXEC? CCEXEC is a work management committee. It supports [...]