Codex standards and the AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project will be presented at the Second MFDS Global Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, which will take place in Seoul, Korea on 27-28 September 2022. The event will be organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the Republic of Korea. Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt will talk about Codex Standards on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and will stress the importance of their implementation. There will be a special session to introduce the ACT [...]

In a preview webinar held on 22 September 2022 ahead of the 6th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH), taking place from 26 September to 3 October, Chairperson Dr M.R. Sudharsan, India, said the committee had learnt from its experience of operating virtually and many issues on standards being considered had been resolved by working groups meeting before the plenary sessions. “Now we are more focused, and hope delegates also have gained experience by attending [...]

The AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project “Implementation of Codex standards to support containment and reduction of foodborne antimicrobial resistance” was recently presented in two regional meetings of the Mongolian Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) on August 2-3 and August 6-7, 2022.  These two conferences were organized by the MVMA branch councils of the Bayankhongor and Zavkhan provinces in cooperation with the Department of Veterinary Services and the FAO office in Mongolia.  “Veterinarians were introduced to the goals and activities of the project, and [...]

In preparation for CCFICS26, the electronic Working Group (eWG) for Equivalence is convening a CCFICS Equivalence virtual workshop on 21 September 2022, 12.00 to 14.30 CET, open to all Codex Members and Observers. Equivalence is a complex issue and building understanding and consensus takes time.  There have been multiple rounds of consultation and comments via physical and electronic working groups and at several CCFICS meetings since 2014.  The event will provide an opportunity for informal discussion of the two separate but parallel [...]

An online event hosted by the Codex Secretariat at 12:00 CEST on Tuesday 20 September 2022 will see the launch of a new Codex survey to measure the use and impact of Codex standards. This survey, developed with the evaluation units of FAO and WHO will seek valuable input from countries on the reach, usefulness, and how a sample of Codex texts are used. The data will contribute to monitoring under the Codex Strategic Plan 2022-2025. The event will bring together [...]

The international conference "Artificial Intelligence (AI) for detecting food fraud" was held on 13 September 2022 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The conference was organized by the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe (CCEURO) of the Codex Alimentarius, the European Center for Peace and Development of the United Nations University for Peace (ECPD), the International Food Standards Certification Organization (IFSCO), with the support of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The conference, attended by 1680 participants from Europe and Asia adopted a [...]

The 24th session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa ended virtually in Kampala, Uganda on 13 September 2022, having reached agreement on a series of proposals that will now be forwarded to the upcoming Codex Alimentarius Commission in November this year. The Committee completed its work on guidelines for developing harmonized food safety legislation for the CCAFRICA region and a proposed regional standard for dried meat products traded in the region. New work proposals on kethiakh, a type of dried [...]

Would you like to know more about how to strengthen the food safety system in your country? The growing population worldwide, the increase in food demand, the consequent growth of the food industry, added to global health risks, demonstrate the importance of incorporating food safety into national policies and strengthening the food safety systems. Foodborne diseases generate great impacts on the health of the population.   The Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency of Ecuador (AGROCALIDAD), as the base of the FAO/WHO Coordinating [...]

Burundi, a Member of Codex since 1963, needs to have an operational National Codex Alimentarius Committee and has begun to sensitize decision-makers on the importance of Codex standards. The committee will help to enforce food standards and Burundi’s participation in fair competition in international trade. This emerged from the joint FAO/Burundi Bureau of Standardization two-day workshop on Codex, which took place in Bujumbura from 24 to 25 August 2022 and was followed by a National Technical working group of Codex [...]

The FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa opened virtually from Kampala, Uganda on Monday 5 September 2022. In opening remarks, Hon. Ms. Harriet Ntabazi, State Minister for Trade, Uganda, called for harmonization of food safety standards across the continent. “If we merge as Africa and talk one language, if we concretize our standards together then the level of competitiveness as a continent will grow … in other markets.” Hon. Mrs. Margaret Muhanga Mugisha, State Minister for Primary Health Care, welcomed nearly 200 [...]