According to data published by FAO in The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020, global fish production in 2018 is estimated to have reached about 179 million tonnes with fisheries and aquaculture playing a significant and growing role in providing food, nutrition and employment. Fish accounts for 17 percent of the global population’s intake of animal protein. This updated version of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products delivers key technical guidance on the harvesting, processing, transport and [...]

With an audience again exceeding 500, the 43rd gathering of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, being held in three-hour sessions across six days, has completed its programme of standard adoption and approval of new work. Chairperson Guilherme Da Costa, Brazil, applauded once again the continued collaboration of Member Countries to build consensus and ensure valuable work can continue. “I thank you all for your support, your energy and usual cooperative spirit”, he said. The Commission adopted a series of standards from the Processed [...]

On 7 October 2020, the Development Law Service of FAO launched the public review of the “Methodology to analyse AMR-Relevant Legislation in the Food and Agriculture Sector – Guidance Document for Regulators”. All those with knowledge on antimicrobial resistance, veterinary medical products, antimicrobial pesticides, food safety, animal or plant health legislation are invited to participate.   Learn more Read the full story, learn how to take part and download the publication on the FAO website

Delegations attending the 27th Committee on Agriculture (COAG), held virtually from 28 September to 2 October 2020, have agreed to support the development of a new FAO Food Safety Strategy which will contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with consideration for food safety issues, as the transformation of food systems accelerates. The strategy will align with this transformation and provide advice on managing unforeseen global challenges and crises that may affect the food supply. It will also serve [...]

A joint seminar/webinar organized by FAO Animal Production and Health Division, the Statistics Division and the FAO Livestock Technical Network entitled: How can we improve data gathering on antimicrobial usage at national level? Lessons from Uganda. will take place on Thursday 15 October 2020 from 11:00-12:00 (GMT+2).   Zoom Registration. Click here for further details.

With three sessions of CAC43 already completed, ten standards and six new work proposals have been adopted by the Commission, meeting for the first time ever virtually. Over 120 Members and more than 50 Observer organizations have participated so far and the next plenary session will be on Monday 12 October, 12:00 CET. Listed below are the standards, guidelines and codes of practice that will be adopted into the Codex Alimentarius and the proposals for new work that have been approved. As [...]

The International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association (IFU) represents producers, associations, traders, machinery and packaging producers and public and private scientific institutions from around the world. As a worldwide association, IFU has faced similar challenges to Codex when it comes to arranging meetings. “Unfortunately, our physical meetings and events were all cancelled so we moved to remote meeting. It’s not the same so we try and have shorter sessions … at different times to try and enable all time zones [...]

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 [...]

At today’s opening of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the release of a new report about World Food Safety Day 2020. “Under the theme ‘Food safety, everyone’s business’, the WHO-led event focused on building and maintaining safe food in marketplaces,” he said, referring to the UN Day while holding up a copy of the report for participants to see. The report, World Food Safety Day 2020 - Overview of an inspiring virtual celebration, offers a [...]

The Directors-General of FAO and WHO, the parent organizations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, set the stage for five days of decision-making on food standards with a message about getting ‘better’. More than 800 registered delegates joined the first-ever virtual Commission, now in its 43rd session, held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In congratulating the Commission for ‘jumping into the digital world’, FAO Director-General Dr QU Dongyu noted that science is the driving force for setting Codex food standards. “When [...]