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

Marking the 60th anniversary of Codex in Georgia

Georgia participated in the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission by organizing an event held on 3 November 2023 in Tbilisi. The event commenced with an opening address by the head of the LEPL National Food Agency, who emphasized the significance of Codex standards and the agency’s activities in the country. Welcoming speeches were delivered by representatives from FAO, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National [...]

11 November 2023

The 7th Shenzhen Food Safety Forum 2023 Celebrates the Codex 60th Anniversary

The 7th Shenzhen Food Safety Forum 2023 held on 8 and 9 November 2023 in Shenzhen, China, commemorated the 60th Anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). This high-level forum was hosted by the Shenzhen Food and Drug Safety Commission Office with full support provided by the Commission’s Director-General Cai Yingquan and the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation. The event was organized by the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology. In his [...]

10 November 2023

Chile celebrates the 60th anniversary of Codex with a symposium

Chile joined the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission with the symposium “60 años del Codex Alimentarius, construyendo normas que salvan vidas. La experiencia de Chile”. The celebration was opened by a video on Codex and its mechanisms along with a presentation by Diego Varela, Executive Secretary of ACHIPIA and Vice-President of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. "Codex has been fundamental in the establishment of the production [...]

09 November 2023

Interview with Miura Koji: "Food can make people happy"

As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Codex Secretariat has been talking to experts involved in the work of committees to understand their motivation, their work and their views on the world of Codex in general. At the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP), which took place in Bordeaux, France from 2 to 6 October 2023, we spoke with Dr Koji Miura, advisor to Japan’s [...]

12 October 2023

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Codex in Japan

Japan joined the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, by organizing the online symposium “Celebrating 60th Anniversary of Codex Alimentarius Commission – looking 10 years ahead to ensure international food safety,” which was held on the 24th of July, 2023 in Tokyo. The event was opened by the video message by Steve Wearne, Chairperson of Codex Alimentarius Commission followed by two keynote speakers, namely Vittorio Fattori, FAO Food [...]

12 October 2023

IADSA lights up Copenhagen for Codex 60th anniversary

The International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA), an NGO with Observer Status with Codex based in London, UK, celebrated Codex@60 in July by lighting up the building of their Danish member association in orange. We talked to them about why this anniversary is significant for them. Why it was important to mark 60 years of Codex for IADSA? Codex has been critical for our sector by establishing the Codex guidelines on vitamin and mineral supplements [...]

10 October 2023

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CNR) celebrates Codex at 60 with style

Staff of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) joined the global celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), dressing up accordingly for the occasion. CRN, a stalwart supporter and regular attendee of CAC as well as of other Codex committees, raised a glass of orange juice – a perfect match with the outfits – in recognition of Codex work over the past six decades. wishing for [...]

20 September 2023

Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius in Spain

On June 19 and 20, 2023 the Reference Conferences of the National Food Center (CNA) of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) took place online. This is an event held annually in which the Official Food Safety Control Laboratories of Spain meet with the Competent Authorities that designate them for this official control, with the aim of sharing the latest developments of interest in the field of work [...]

20 July 2023

Sultanate of Oman commits to Codex and global food standards in 60th anniversary video

The Sultanate of Oman declares its commitment to Codex and to international standards and guidelines for food safety and quality in a video recently released as part of the country’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius. The country has been a Codex Member for over 50 years and has actively participated in the development of global standards and in particular has played an active role in regional initiatives [...]

12 July 2023

Peru celebrates Codex 60th anniversary

In April 2023 the Peruvian General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety - DIGESA, organized a ceremony and conferences the celebrate the 60th anniversary of Codex. Staff at DIGESA celebrate the Codex 60th anniversary in Peru. Those taking part included Jorge Villena Chávez, former Director General of DIGESA, who initiated Codex work in Peru and was also their first national Codex Chairperson. Learn more about the event (Spanish) Photo credit Main photo Jorge Villena [...]

06 July 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.