The Codex informal webinar series continues on 23 April 2021 as experts leading work on the main agenda items at the Codex committee on veterinary drugs in food meet online to discuss how work has progressed since the last session held in 2018 in Chicago. The webinar series in general has been an opportunity to bring the Codex comunity up to speed on a range of technical topics moving through the standard development process.   The residues of veterinary drugs in food [...]

A series of regional training webinars on food safety based on risk assessment and Codex Alimentarius Standards took place in the Republic of Kazakhstan from 7 to 9 April 2021. The webinar series was arranged by the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (CSEC) jointly with the "National Center of Expertise" at CSEC and the Codex Alimentarius Group in Kazakhstan. Participants included representatives of business operators of the Kyzylorda region, the [...]

 Malawi launched its Codex Trust Fund Project on 1 April 2021 at the Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe. The Minister of Health for Malawi, the Honourable Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, MP, presided over the launch of the project entitled: “Building Strong, Solid and Sustainable National Capacity to Engage in Codex”. The launch was attended by various stakeholders whose activities are related to Codex, food safety, agriculture, trade, health and human nutrition. These included Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies from Agriculture, Health, Trade, Industry [...]

On 18 March 2021, the Codex Contact Point in Guatemala presented an FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund project, that aims to strengthen Codex programmes, to national and technical committee members in Guatemala with the virtual participation of the Codex Contact Point of El Salvador. Guatemala and El Salvador have been members of the Codex Alimentarius since 1968 and 1975, respectively and both countries recognise the contribution of the Codex Alimentarius to the fulfilment of their national public health and trade objectives. Codex [...]

On 8 April Codex Members and Observers are invited to a webinar highlighting the progress made in revising the Codex Code of Practice to Minimize and Contain Foodborne AMR. There have been many developments in the area of antimicrobial resistance since the text was originally published in 2005 and following the adoption of the Global Action Plan on AMR by the World Health Assembly, Codex Members agreed it was time to revise the Code of Practice and established the Task Force [...]

More than 350 participants gathered online on Thursday 25 March 2021 to learn more about the risks of contamination of animal food and feed from carryover – a process of feed contamination that can occur during feed processing, handling, transportation, delivery or in feeding animals on-farm, when residues of veterinary drugs are unintentionally transferred to a food-producing animal. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the publication of an FAO/WHO expert meeting report entitled Carryover in feed and transfer from feed [...]

On 7 April 2021 the Members of the CCNE region will come together virtually for an informal meeting under the direction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, confirmed as the new Regional Coordinator at CAC43. The meeting aims to review the ongoing work of CCNE and strengthen communication and collaboration on Codex work across the region. Virtual meetings have become a valuable tool to maintaining contact with Codex members and observers during the ongoing pandemic and ensuring that the work of Codex [...]

Food allergies may impact only parts of the world’s population, but that impact can be lethal. People with food allergies have only limited options to prevent allergic reactions, by knowing exactly what causes allergies and avoiding the particular food. In March 2021, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific published “Food allergies – Leaving no one behind”. The booklet explains that it is important to manage food allergies within local contexts. It is critical for countries to understand what [...]

This week saw wide interest in trade standards that will be deliberated at the upcoming 25th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS25), to be held virtually from 31 May to 8 June 2021. Two webinars held on Tuesday and Thursday 23 and 25 March 2021 brought together over 300 Codex Members and Observers as part of the series of Codex technical sessions updating delegates on topics on the agendas of subsidiary bodies [...]

Water is a dwindling resource worldwide. On World Water Day 2021, the UN World Water Development Report  2021 on 'Valuing Water' is launched and in assessing water use in agriculture, calls for the implementation of management strategies that “could maximize the multiple values of water for food production” including improving water use efficiency; reducing demand for food and its consequent water use; and improving knowledge and understanding of water use for food Not all food processors have access to safe [...]