In the week that WHO urges action to increase physical activity levels in girls and boys aged 11 to 17 years and reports that more than 80% of school-going adolescents globally do not meet current recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day, it is timely that the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) is meeting from 24 to 29 November in Duesseldorf, Germany. Purwiyatno Hariyadi, Indonesia, Vice-chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission [...]

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week runs from 18 to 22 November 2019, and is an annual, global event through which FAO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and WHO raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a serious health and livelihoods issue. The three organizations encourage stakeholders to treat antibiotics and other antimicrobials as a precious resource to be used prudently and responsibly. Food plays an important role in the development and spread of AMR. The presence of AMR microorganisms in [...]

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met today with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, together with three Vice Chairpersons – Mariam Eid from Lebanon, Purwiyatno Hariyadi from Indonesia and Steve Wearne from the United Kingdom. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu (right) with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission   Guilherme da Costa said: "The Director-General expressed strong support for the work of Codex and for the importance of science-based international food standards."   Codex activities should be more visible, tangible and [...]

Jenny Scott is Senior Advisor in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She co-chaired the working group on the proposed draft code of practice on food allergen management for food business operators. Jenny explains the importance of the work on allergens. Jenny Scott co-chaired the Codex work on allergens with Australia and the UK  “Food allergies are an increasing food safety issue globally, resulting in many food recalls (approximately 1/3 of food recalls [...]

Dr. Mindy Brashears, the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. addressed delegates gathered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA for the 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. Brashears emphasized in her welcome address that with food safety policies being constantly updated, such meetings were important “to help foster partnerships that can lead to modernization and new policies for food safety and international food standards”. Dr. Mindy Brashears, Deputy Under Secretary for Food [...]

As the Codex food hygiene committee (CCFH) begins deliberations in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, delegations from around the world have emphasised the importance of one of the main items on the agenda. The revision of the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene (GPFH), has been described by Udo Wiemer from Germany as “the most important item of the upcoming session”. In many countries the Codex text forms the basis of national legislation. “In Indonesia GPFH are adopted identically to be [...]

After a break of almost three years the six Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) will meet again this year. From the beginning of September until mid-November, the intense period of regional meetings kicks off the post CAC42 meeting calendar. In recent years concrete efforts to revitalize the RCCs have been made to position them as key forums for discussion on food safety issues. The RCCs provide an opportunity to work together and improve coordination at regional level on Codex standards and strengthen [...]

The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) is working on a text, developed following a request from UNICEF, which will provide guidance on technical and nutritional aspects of the production of Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods for children from the age of 6 to 59 months with severe acute malnutrition. Children affected by this type of malnutrition, known as SAM, need safe, palatable foods with a high energy content and adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals and [...]

The COP is intended to provide guidance to reduce the formation of 3-MCPDE and GE in refined oils and food products made with these oils by offering good management practices for application by national authorities, producers, manufacturers and other relevant bodies.   The forty-second Codex Alimentarius Commission held in Geneva, Switzerland 8-12 July 2019, adopted a Code of Practice (COP) for the reduction of 3-Monochloropropane-1,2- diol esters (3-MCPDE) and Glycidyl Esters (GE) in refined oils and food products made with refined oils. The [...]

by Zhihua Ye, Joint FAO/IAEA Division-IAEA. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), through the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (the “Joint FAO/IAEA Division”), support and implement activities related to the improvement of food safety and control systems. These activities are therefore closely related to the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and several of its committees, such as CCPR, CCCF, CCRVDF and CCMAS. The Joint [...]