The United Nations Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2), held in Rome at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), closed on Wednesday 26 July after three days of high-level events, meetings and dialogues. Over 2 000 participants from 180 countries came together to explore challenges and opportunities to transform agrifood systems. During the Summit, delegates and stakeholders learned about the importance of the central role of food systems transformation in increasing efficiency and sustainability and the important [...]

The “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT)” project published a brochure to help individuals and organizations committed to tackling foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) play their role. The brochure is available in English and Spanish. “We believe this brochure provides valuable insights on how different stakeholders can contribute to managing foodborne AMR,” said Myoengsin Choi, FAO Food Safety Officer and ACT Project Coordinator. Considering the Codex AMR texts and the need for an “all hands on deck” approach, the publication outlines [...]

Sarah Cahill of the Codex Secretariat has received the Ivan Parkin award at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting taking place from 16-19 July 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her lecture entitled “Anatomy of a Standard” emphasized how clarity, engagement, science, impact and patience were key to developing useful and successful standards. The Ivan Parkin Lecture was established by IAFP in 1986 to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the field of food safety. Each [...]

While the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was taking place from 10-14 July 2023 in Geneva, the work of one of the expert bodies that provide scientific advice to Codex was in the news when the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) presented its comprehensive updated risk assessment of aspartame, an artificial sweetener, used in many products including diet soft drinks. The update reaffirmed the existing acceptable daily intake (ADI) level for aspartame of 0-40 mg/kg [...]

Dr Ailan Li, Assistant Director-General, WHO, opened the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 10-14 July 2023, calling on governments to ensure that food meets safety standards to guarantee the basic human right of people to enjoy access to safe, nutritious and healthy food. Codex sets standards based on a rigorous and inclusive scientific process with the support of FAO and WHO. Li said: “Food standards save lives. When food standards are implemented, people [...]

As part of the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT)” project, Mongolia is actively enhancing its collaboration efforts to combat foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A delegation from the FAO visited the country on 12-14 June 2023 to gather information on how the project is advancing.   “According to some global studies, the potential economic cost of antimicrobial resistance is comparable to the global financial shocks of 2008-2009. I commend the action of the Government of Mongolia in containing foodborne [...]

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has named Dr Evelyne Mbandi as the new Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) following confirmation by the United States Senate of former CCFH Chairperson, Emilio Esteban, as USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. As she takes on her new role, much of the CCFH work that Mbandi will be picking up will be revisions of texts that need updating, in particular a number of guidelines on the application of the [...]

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 [...]

As part of the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Codex Secretariat has been talking to experts who lead work in committees to understand their motivation, their work and their views on the world of Codex in general. At the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, which took place in Budapest, Hungary from 12 to 16 June 2023, we caught up with Greg Noonan who is Director in the Bioanalytical Chemistry Division of the Food and [...]

In 2022 the Codex Secretariat began work on reviewing the formatting and layout of Codex texts to ensure consistency, to meet FAO and international publishing standards and to enhance readability. A digital object identifier (DOI) has also been added to standards as they are published, providing a unique reference that can support tracking and citation of each text. The project is part of the Codex Secretariat’s contribution to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. At the [...]