The first survey on the use and impact of Codex texts, launched on 20 September 2022, reports that the large majority of Codex Members, more than 80 percent, are satisfied with these international food texts. Steve Wearne, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, welcomed the publication and commented that “Monitoring the use and impact of Codex texts provides key information on how Codex is assisting Members in protecting consumer health and facilitating fair trade practices”. He also underlined that “by adhering to [...]

The Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) started its 33rd session in Bordeaux, France, discussing the latest modifications to the Codex Procedural Manual to meet the needs of the Members. The meeting was opened by Marc Fesneau, French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, who emphasized “that to this end, it is essential that the scientific methodology used for risk assessment is constantly updated, considering innovations in risk assessment, so that Codex Alimentarius continues to be the internationally recognized authority [...]

Jean-Luc Angot, General Inspector of Veterinary Public Health at the French Ministry for Agriculture and Food, will guide the work of the committee that deals with all procedural and general matters, for the third time this year. He will preside over the next session in October 2023 where CCGP will discuss several items, from the Procedural Manual to the rules of procedure on sessions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Just before the meeting met, the Codex Secretariat sat down with Jean-Luc for [...]

Cambodia brought farmers, veterinarians, abattoir workers, agro-chemical and fertilizer vendors, government officials, and other experts together to discuss how to reduce antimicrobial growth promotion use in poultry farms. Convened as a co-creation workshop, the event took place in Tramkak, Takeo province, on 7-8 September 2023. “We used this innovative co-creation approach, where public and private sector stakeholders met face-to-face to determine the next steps, we could take together to solve the use of antimicrobials in poultry farms. This workshop helped to [...]

The Codex Secretariat launched today the second survey to measure the use and impact of Codex texts. Building on the lessons learned and the success of the 2022 survey, this year the survey focuses on the General Standard for Food Additives, Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling, Recommended Methods of Analysis and Sampling, and Guidelines on Performance Criteria for Methods of Analysis for the Determination of Pesticide Residues in Food and Feed.Countries are urged to complete the survey by 25 October 2023. “It [...]

More than 450 participants in person and online attended the 3rd Global Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), hosted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea on 12 and 13 September 2023 in Seoul. Stakeholders from the food industry, academia and research, regulatory authorities, and international organizations discussed One Health approaches to tackle foodborne AMR. “This conference is an excellent opportunity to share our knowledge and experience in tackling foodborne AMR”, said Dr Yu-Kyoung [...]

Codex and FAO officers took part in a training programme organised by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) focused on Codex work and its impact on food safety and fair trade. The training programme on 14 September featured five speakers from the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Soyeon An, MFDS Deputy Director of the Food Safety Policy Bureau, was among the 50 [...]

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global threat of increasing concern to human and animal health. It also has implications for both food safety and food security and the economic well-being of millions of farming households. Food plays an important role in the development and spread of AMR.  Among the ongoing initiatives to tackle this issue, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea is hosting the 3rd Global Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance on 12 and 13 September 2023. The conference will be also streamed [...]

In a new Codex podcast, David Massey speaks with all six Codex Regional Coordinators about the importance of their role in ensuring representation of the Codex membership at a decision-making level. The podcast was recorded at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, CCEXEC, held in Geneva 10-14 July, where initial plans were discussed for establishing the framework of the new Codex Strategic Plan (2026-2031). Massey asks his guests what they consider to be the value of [...]

World Food Safety Day messages reached people across at least 139 countries this year. Newspapers, online news sites, television programmes, radio stations and magazines all played a part in spreading the word. On 7 March, the World Food Safety Day campaign was launched and the year’s theme, “Food standards save lives”, was announced. The Food Safety Africa magazine dedicated a double page spread to World Food Safety Day in its March issue and the Food Safety Magazine reported on the year’s [...]