Korea recently marked the successful celebration of the 22nd Korean Food Safety Day and on the occasion of this achievement, we had the opportunity to interview Yu-Kyoung Oh, the Minister of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea. We wanted to delve into the country's accomplishments in the field of food safety management. The minister shared her insights and outlined the plans to ensure that food safety remains a paramount concern in Korea.  Congratulations on the 22nd Korean Food [...]

Three webinars for Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in 2023 to strengthen the implementation of Codex standards.  The webinar on future challenges in food safety will be held in April, followed by the webinar on the application of Codex standards (regional experiences) in July, and the webinar on food safety under the One Health approach will take place in October.  “The growing population worldwide, the increase in food demand, and the consequent growth of the food industry added to [...]

Representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reviewed the progress and priorities of the project “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” at a consultation meeting earlier this March.   Attending the session, Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary, said: "We are happy to implement the ACT project with the support from the Government of Korea. This year Codex is turning 60. This project is one of the [...]

As part of the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project, six countries have finished assessing their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) situation, in particular the status of implementation of measures to minimize and contain foodborne AMR. This was part of capacity building activities to manage the development and transmission of foodborne AMR through the adoption and implementation of relevant Codex standards. To learn more about this process and the expected impact, we talked to Jorge Pinto Ferreira, FAO [...]

The AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project now has national coordinators in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia and Nepal. Jorge Berrios (Bolivia), Ana Carrizosa (Colombia) and Sakar Shivakoti (Nepal) are veterinarians with extensive experience in health management and inter-institutional coordination. Pisey Oum (Cambodia) brings his knowledge in biosafety, biotechnology and food assessment from different UN organizations.  “We need to know more in-depth about the current situation of the use of antimicrobials in Bolivia. This will allow us to plan better the actions in reducing [...]

Codex standards and the AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project were presented at the Second MFDS Global Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which took place in Seoul, Korea on 27-28 September 2022. The event was organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the Republic of Korea, with speakers from the FAO ACT project team. Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt commended the Republic of Korea on their commitment to advance Codex Standards. Following their generous support of the Codex Task Force on [...]

A timely new compendium of Codex texts to support countries in the fight against foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was published on Thursday 17 February 2022 at a launch event of a new FAO project, sponsored by the Republic of Korea, that will support implementation of Codex guidance in this field. Countries have different approaches and interests when it comes to use of antimicrobials for animal and plant health and the potential for AMR carry-over or transmission into foods. The overarching international [...]

The publication of two Codex standards on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) coincides with a study in the Lancet released on 19 January 2022 that describes AMR as “one of the leading public health threats of the 21st century”. The Lancet study emphasizes the need to address data gaps by expanding data collection which Codex is addressing through its new guidelines on integrated monitoring and surveillance of foodborne antimicrobial surveillance, adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in December 2021. An incredible achievement to [...]

The Codex task force on antimicrobial resistance had to go into extra time on Wednesday 13 October 2021 but has succeeded in recommending that new Guidelines on Integrated Monitoring and Surveillance of Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will be sent for final adoption at the Codex Alimentarius Commission in November 2021. Chairperson Yong Ho Park, Republic of Korea, said: “We knew the task would not be easy. I applaud with pride the compromises made by so many wonderful people to achieve our [...]

In an extended session on Saturday 9 October 2021, the Codex task force on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reached agreement on sending the revision of the Code of practice to minimize and contain foodborne AMR to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for final adoption in November, but will go into extra time on Wednesday 13 October in an attempt to complete discussions on a new guideline on integrated monitoring and surveillance for foodborne AMR. Urged on by host, the Republic of Korea’s slogan [...]