En el 18.º período de sesiones de la Comisión del Codex Alimentarius, celebrado en 1989, se acordó establecer un nuevo Comité Coordinador para América del Norte y el Pacífico Sudoccidental, que reuniera, en palabras de la delegación de Nueva Zelandia, a "países muy distantes... que tienen muchos intereses comunes".
La CCNASWP es una región extraordinariamente diversa, en la que coexisten economías plenamente maduras como las de Estados Unidos, Canadá, Australia y Nueva Zelandia, con diez pequeños estados insulares. El mayor de ellos es Papua Nueva Guinea (con más de 7 millones de habitantes) y los más pequeños son las Islas Cook y Nauru, con una población de aproximadamente 10 000 habitantes.
El coordinador regional tiene su sede en el Ministerio de Agricultura de Fiji.
Fiji tiene previsto aplicar las normas en el ámbito nacional y apoyar a todos los países de la región, especialmente a los pequeños estados insulares en desarrollo, para que desarrollen un marco normativo sólido en materia de inocuidad alimentaria. Estas iniciativas contribuirán a la mejora de la salud pública, garantizarán que los alimentos importados sean inocuos y de la calidad esperada y favorecerán un mayor acceso a los mercados internacionales.
El coordinador regional seguirá prestando apoyo al trabajo sobre normas regionales y tiene el objetivo de reforzar la participación de la región en el Codex en su conjunto. Este propósito puede lograrse continuando el desarrollo de la capacidad a escala nacional mediante la mejora del papel de los coordinadores nacionales y los puntos de contacto para una participación mayor y efectiva en el Codex.
On 7 June this year, the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture dedicated itself to ensuring its staff and the general public were not only aware of World Food Safety Day but also that they understood the significance of ensuring food safety “to inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks.”
The Ministry, which is home to the country’s National Codex Alimentarius Committee, involved every department from accounts and human resources to animal health and agricultural statistics, in celebrating World Food [...]
Over the past 2 days, June 7 and 8, 2021, food safety leaders from across North America joined the North American Food Safety Summit, and I had the privilege of being one of the hosts for the event along with my friend, Dr Darin Detwiler at Northeastern University. Setting up a web cam feed that works for camera angles and manages all the scripts and notes effectively takes creativity. To get a good camera angle, I set up a step [...]
One of the first World Food Safety Day events this year took place in Australia in an event jointly hosted by Environmental Health Australia (EHA) and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) of the United States of America. The aim of the event was, over a 24-hour period, to talk with food safety regulators from around the world to get an idea of the different – and similar – challenges, approaches and practices encountered in different countries.
The Australian half of [...]
Environmental Health Australia (EHA) and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) in the USA have teamed up to host a 24-hour live event for World Food Safety Day. “Have you ever wondered what food safety looks like in other countries?” they are asking prospective viewers – and for those who have, there will be answers from all over the world.
The Facebook live event will kick off with an opening address from Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response [...]
Students and staff at Kansas State University’s Food Science Institute are gearing up to raise food safety awareness in a variety of ways. KSU students from around the world have already prepared a video explaining why food safety is important and a podcast has been recorded for the University’s Global Food Systems podcast series. The discussions in this 7 June podcast cover subjects ranging from human food safety behaviours, cultural contributions and foodborne illness to global child mortality and antimicrobial [...]
Representatives of countries of the North America and South West Pacific (NASWP) region met virtually on 23 November 2020 to update the regional work-plan for implementation of the Codex Strategic Plan until CCNASWP will reconvene, tentatively early 2022. Addressing over 25 participants, in opening remarks Vice-Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Steve Wearne, UK, said “all Members had a voice in the adoption of the new Strategic Plan and all Codex actors now have a shared responsibility for its implementation”.
Delegations [...]
The Codex Alimentarius Commission approved a standard for kava products for use as a beverage when mixed with water today.
“The work started way back in 2004 in Apia, Samoa, and has taken 16 years to get here,” explained the representative of Vanuatu on behalf of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and South West Pacific (CCNASWP), the region where the standard will be used.
Kava is part of the culture and the economy of the Pacific Islands. The root of [...]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service is recognizing September as Food Safety education Month and encouraging consumers to follow good food safety practices to protect themselves and their families from foodborne illness.
The guidance reminds consumers they should follow four simple steps for food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.
Read the USDA press release here.
Learn more about the four steps at Foodsafety.gov.
Food safety touches every aspect of our food system and defines how secure, sustainable, resilient, and nourishing a food supply can be when stressed. To mark the second annual World Food Safety Day, FAO North America convened a webinar exploring how to maintain safe supply chains during a pandemic and minimize future disruptions to build more resilient food systems and ensure food security on 12 June. Hank Cardello, Senior Fellow & Director, Food Policy Center, Hudson Institute moderated the expert discussion, [...]
The national radio station Buzz FM 96.3 in Vanuatu broadcast an interview with Hilde Kruse, Senior Food Standards Officer at the Codex Secretariat, on 15 June 2020 to share news of World Food Safety Day.
In the interview, Kruse explained that foodborne illnesses are preventable if everyone uses hygienic practices and follows food safety measures. “We need to ensure that all players are aware of their responsibility and have the tools they need to do their part,” she said, calling on [...]
