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 [...]

At 12:00 CET on Thursday 24 September 2020, the Directors-General of FAO and WHO will welcome over 600 delegates to the first ever virtual session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - CAC43. Following an overwhelmingly positive response from Member Countries, the two-thirds majority required to ensure the 43rd meeting could go ahead, have affirmed their belief that Codex international food safety standards have a vital role to play for consumers in every home. The standards, guidelines and codes of practice that [...]

In the two short years since the World Food Safety Day was created, we have already seen the engagement and momentum that this campaign can garner from all corners of the industry and around the world. Food safety truly is everyone’s business, and it is heartening to see WFSD participation from the private sector and public sector alike. At the end of the day, we are all consumers and can all join forces behind the vision of safe food for [...]

Usually in the build-up to the Codex Alimentarius Commission annual meeting, hundreds of delegates would be beginning to travel, sometimes halfway around the globe, to attend a whole week of plenary meetings in either Geneva or Rome. This year, as CAC43 gets underway on 24 September 2020, the logistic preparations will be more concerned with Wi-Fi access and webcams than visas and lost luggage. With an expected participation of over 600 Codex Members and Observers the pressure is on the Codex [...]

The webinar organized by the Codex Secretariat on Friday 11 September 2020 was well attended with 86 countries and the European Union, plus 34 observer organizations taking part and numbers of attendees peaking at over 300. In opening the session, the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Guilherme Da Costa, Brazil paid tribute to the global Codex Contact Points who play a key role in managing the practical work for Codex Members. “Through them, everything happens in the organization and without [...]

As Codex Members and Observers prepare to take part in the first ever virtual session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which starts on 24 September 2020, the Codex Secretariat has organized a training webinar to prepare delegates for the online meeting. This webinar will take place on Friday 11 September 2020, at 12.00 (CET). Delegates will hear from the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Guilherme Da Costa and from Codex Secretary, Tom Heilandt, how it was possible to arrange for [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic will have an unprecedented impact on global and regional trade. According to the World Trade Organization, world merchandise trade in 2020 could fall by as much as 32 percent. New policy guidance, part of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, describes how the current economic recession is raising serious concerns about hunger and malnutrition. It goes on to explain how ad-hoc trade restrictions, including food safety measures that may not be science based, have worsened the situation [...]