The Latin American and the Caribbean region has a third of the world’s fresh water resources and more than a quarter of the world’s medium to high potential farmland. It is one of the largest net food exporting regions in the world and its agricultural production continues to expand. Chile, elected as Regional Coordinator for the first time in 2015, is serving a second term that will end in 2020 at the 43rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The FAO/WHO [...]

A productive session at the Codex Committee for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables as four standards are sent for adoption to the next Codex Alimentarius Commission in July. “These hopefully soon to be adopted standards for kiwifruit, garlic, ware potatoes and yam represent a milestone in international standard setting activities", said Alfonso Guati Rojo, Chairperson of the committee. Rojo also saluted the hard work by delegates:  “Consensus is key for developing Codex standards”, he said and “in Mexico we will include [...]

Mr Alfonso Guati-Rojo Sánchez, Chairperson of the Committee, welcomed delegates to the twenty-first session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: "It is an honor for Mexico to host CCFFV since 1988: we have been working continuously for 31 years and have managed to jointly build 37 international standards. This work directly contributes to ensure fair practices in food trade and to protect consumer health". Emphasizing the importance of consensus in timely completion of Codex standards Sánchez said, "it is important [...]

Members and Observers from over 30 countries will meet in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico from 7 to 11 October 2019 to develop standards at the 21st session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV). Chaired by Alfonso Guati Rojo Sánchez, Director General for Standards in the Ministry of Economy, Mexico, the meeting will examine a range of standards where the committee is close to proposing adoption to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, including kiwifruit, garlic and ware potatoes. Countries [...]

The first ever World Food Safety Day was celebrated on Friday, 7 June 2019, a partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization. With two major initiatives planned for the day, the team of Renata Clarke, FAO Sub-regional Coordinator along with Karen Polson-Edwards Advisor, Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health - PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean started early with a 7:30AM journey to the Starcom Network studios for two [...]

To celebrate World Food Safety Day, Nicaragua has been promoting an initiative to increase the visibility of food safety and its importance, through the creation of murals in health centers of 153 municipalities nationwide. The murals reflect the degree of commitment of the country towards Food Safety and the importance of raising awareness among the population, with the message that "Food Safety is everyone's business". The murals highlight important aspects such as hand washing and the five keys to food safety. Other [...]

The Chilean Codex Alimentarius Secretariat, ACHIPIA, organized a seminar on 5 June 2019 entitled “Codex Alimentarius: Strengthening food safety in trade”. The aim was to attract and increase the participation of different sectors of the food industry in the national sub-committees. Speakers from the food industry association explained to participants how Codex standards and their application in production processes, help them in complying with national and international regulations on food safety and facilitating food trade, using concrete examples in which [...]

The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) is gathering for the 50th time. This year the meeting, chaired by the United States of America, is co-hosted by Panama, whose Vice Minister of Health, Eric Ulloa, set the tone for the week-long meeting. “Challenges are ahead,” he told the Committee, outlining the forward-looking agenda, which includes: revising one of the earliest Codex standards (the General Principles of Food Hygiene) and covering new topics, such as allergen management, microbiological foodborne outbreak management [...]

Codex Members of the Latin America and the Caribbean region met in Panama City on 11 November 2018 to discuss the draft Codex Strategic Plan (2020-2025). Organized by the regional coordinator, Chile, the meeting brought together 22 participants from 11 countries, who were attending the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. Constanza Vergara of Chile led the meeting on behalf of the Regional Coordinator. In light of the experience of the participants in Codex standard-setting and implementation, the meeting served as an [...]

Earlier this year, the Codex Secretariat launched a series of workshops  in the six Codex regions that are having a direct impact on the operational capacity of countries to engage in the standard-setting process. More participants are now expressing national positions via the Online Commenting System (OCS) and the Digital platform for Electronic Working Groups. Linked to the workshops, the Codex Secretariat is currently holding a series of follow-up webinars  tailored to users’ requests and may include the use of the OCS and [...]