The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly created by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO), is the most important international body in the field of food standards. Since 1963, Codex has developed hundreds of internationally recognized standards, guidelines and codes of practice. It has defined thousands of permitted levels of additives, contaminants and chemical residues in food. The end goal: ensure food is safe for everyone, everywhere.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) held its first meeting in 1963. Although the CAC has not met every year in between, 2023 will represent 60 years of activity.

CAC45 plenary, Rome, November 2022 © FAO/Giulio Napolitano

Why we are celebrating a 60th anniversary (Codex@60)

The 44th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC44), held in November 2021, agreed that Codex@60 in 2023 would be a “wonderful occasion” to raise awareness about food safety and quality also in connection with the 5th celebration of World Food Safety Day (WFSD). CAC45 encouraged all Codex Members and Observers to use the opportunity of the Codex 60th Anniversary to plan and implement activities to build awareness of Codex and to engage high level political support for Codex work.

The 82nd Session of Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which took place in June 2022, further noted the guidance of FAO and WHO in holding a yearlong celebration of Codex@60 and the committee envisaged the anniversary as an opportunity to promote: the essential role Codex still plays impacting consumer health and fair practices in the food trade; the people of Codex, and the future of Codex.

Activities in the Codex Secretariat

For the Codex Secretariat the aim of Codex@60 is to mark the achievements of 60 years of standard setting with an event at CAC46 whilst at the same time relaunching the Codex website and transforming the "food code" of standards, guidelines and codes of practice and the Procedural Manual with a new format and layout and a digital object identifier to track downloads and citations.

Events throughout the Codex world

Codex Members, Observers and all those wishing to mark the 60th anniversary are being encouraged to share their events with the Codex Secretariat for publication on the website and in the Codex@60 special edition of the CAC annual magazine.

The anniversary is an opportunity to showcase the key benefits of Codex standards, though awareness raising events, case studies on impact and other success stories. But is also a chance to reflect on the future of Codex as part of the current global agenda and how it can contribute to the transformation of food systems.

Send your contributions to [email protected].

WEBCAST OF THE CODEX 60TH ANNIVERSARY

Please watch the Webcast of the 60th Anniversary Event - Live from Geneva

News about Codex@60

Codex Looks Good at 60

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. This article by Nick Gardner, Long-time Codex delegateSix decades is a long time for an organization to remain relevant and effective. Yet, the Codex Alimentarius, a concept developed at a time when global food trade looked very different than [...]

26 November 2023

African region is working towards greater food safety awareness and improved participation in Codex

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. This article by Haklim Mufumbiro (Uganda), Regional Coordinator for CCAFRICAThe year 2023 marked the return to normalcy for mostactivities, following two years of uncertainty due to COVID-19 and several virtual engagements in all shapes and sizes. Most of the [...]

26 November 2023

CCASIA is promoting the use of Codex standards across the region

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. This article by Tian Jing (China), Regional Coordinator for CCASIAIn Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand this year, activities were organized to celebrate the 60th anniversary of [...]

26 November 2023

Germany takes over as Regional Coordinator for Europe

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. Germany has taken over as Regional Coordinator of CCEURO and Anne Beutling told us how they are preparing for next year’s coordinating committee meeting. “We have, organized our administrative set up to accommodate the work of Regional Coordinator: we [...]

26 November 2023

A year of greater participation in the Latin America and Caribbean region

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. This article by Rommel Betancourt (Ecuador), Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the CaribbeanSince the 22nd session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC22), held virtually in October 2022, the LAC region further strengthened [...]

26 November 2023

Near East Coordinator reflects on a four-year hiatus for the regional committee

This year's edition of the CODEX magazine, titled "60 years of standards", is out now! Read some of our articles online and click on the link below to download the full publication. This article by Khalid Al Zhrani (Saudi Arabia), Regional Coordinator for the Near EastAfter a gap of 4 years due mainly to the Codex pandemic and the challenge of finding space on the calendar, CCNE11 brought the latest round of Coordinating [...]

26 November 2023

Codex: a gift of 60 years

Iraq’s Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control organized a symposium in cooperation with the Iraqi College of Engineering Sciences, entitled “The Importance of the Codex Alimentarius in Promoting Food Safety”. The slogan of the event was “sustainable food standards, a vision for a better world”, and it served as an introduction to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The symposium highlighted the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission [...]

23 November 2023

CCASIA prepares for CAC46 and celebrates Codex’s 60th anniversary

The FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCASIA) held a “Codex colloquium” on 15 and 16 November 2023 in Xiamen, China. The colloquium was hosted and chaired by the Regional Coordinator, which operates from within the China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA). Sixteen Member Countries from the CCASIA region attended the event. “I couldn’t be happier to meet our CCASIA family members in person, especially after the pandemic,” [...]

23 November 2023

Codex@60 / It’s not too late to celebrate!

Throughout this year, Codex Members and Observers have celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which held its first meeting in June 1963. Here’s a taster of what’s been happening around the world. At the very start of the year, the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific met in Fiji and a celebration cake was enjoyed by delegates including Fiji’s Minister for Agriculture and Waterways, [...]

14 November 2023

India Celebrates 60 years of Codex

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry jointly hosted an event in New Delhi on 27 October 2023 to celebrate the achievements of Codex over the last 60 years and the role it has played in the development of international standards. The event also provided an occasion to trace India’s own journey in Codex from early years to the [...]

12 November 2023

1 2 3 4 5 6

Key Information

Codex standards, guidelines and codes of practice deal with everything that can have an impact on the safety or quality of our food
All Codex food safety work is based on the scientific advice provided by independent expert bodies under the auspices of FAO and WHO
Codex food safety standards are reference texts in the World Trade Organization (WTO) SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) agreement
The Codex Alimentarius has become a global reference for trade between countries and has also in many cases led to improvements in domestic production
Food safety is very much the responsibility of all parties along the value chain, from producer to consumer
Codex continually reviews its standards to ensure the best possible protection for consumers without unnecessarily restricting trade

Women leaders in Codex

For Codex@60 we researched all the women who have chaired Codex committees since 1963.

Resources

All visual digital assets for Codex@60 are available here.