A two-day Regional Technical Workshop for National Codex Contact Points has concluded in Kenya's capital Nairobi, bringing together participants from close to 25 African countries, with the majority working within the areas of food safety and international standards. The workshop supported skills and knowledge development to increase practical capacity and ability of staff working in national Codex systems and to facilitate their successful operation in the Codex international standard-setting environment. This is through the use of electronic tools, such as [...]

One role of the regional coordinators in Codex is to bring to the attention of the wider Codex community topics of particular interest emerging from their regions relating to food safety and quality standards or trade. In a historic first for Codex, an Eastern European country — Kazakhstan — has taken the reins of the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe (CCEURO), as Regional Coordinator for Europe. Regional standard for mare’s milk Several meetings took place in 2017 with a producer of [...]

On January 9, 2018, a training course was held in Lisbon, Portugal, with the objective to reorganize and strengthen the participation of national representatives of  different committees in Codex work, as well as, to raise awareness concerning the need to engage all stakeholder groups (Non-governmental organizations, consumer organizations and industry associations) and partners (Ministry of science, health, trade and foreign affairs) in Codex work. This training was organized and conducted by the General Directorate for Food and Veterinary / Food Safety [...]

The FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committees (RCC) are to be held between September and October 2019. Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary, announced the change in scheduling earlier this week. Why have the RCC meetings been moved? Tom: Following consultation with FAO and WHO, we feel there is an opportunity to enhance the RCC revitalization process by rescheduling these meetings more closely together in the Codex calendar. This will bring stronger alignment and sharper focus on regional matters and rationalize the Secretariat workload, which is complex [...]

For the first time Codex members and observers can participate remotely in the plenary discussion of a meeting, providing comments and inputs in real time thanks to the use of webinar technology. This is a milestone in the Codex approach to developing standards by ensuring broader and simultaneous participation. The new tool is in use this week in Santiago, Chile, where Codex members and observers are attending the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) [...]

Codex Chairperson Guilherme Costa and Vice-Chairperson Purwiyatno Hariyadi praised the commitment and achievements of countries in the CCASIA region and called on the skill and experience of the private sector to continue to develop partnerships that can strengthen the work of Codex. Speaking at the 12th CII Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Summit held in New Delhi India 4-5 December 2017, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Costa said that Codex standards are taken up by industry and governments if [...]

Today at an event organised by Codex at FAO HQ in Rome, Ms Geannina Dinarte Romero, Minister for Economy, Industry and Commerce of Costa Rica, called on countries to support the initiative for a World Food Safety Day that would signal the right for all people to have access to safe and nutritious food in sufficient quantity.  There can be no food security, no zero hunger without food safety The Director-General of FAO Mr José Graziano da Silva, opening the meeting, stated [...]

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) invited its members as well as representatives of various standards bodies - such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission – along with NGOs and academia to the Palais des Nations in Geneva to explore the role of standards in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during an international conference on 28-29 November 2017. [...]

The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) studies specific nutritional problems, drafts general provisions concerning the nutritional aspects of all foods and develops standards for foods for special dietary uses. The 39th meeting is taking place this week in Berlin, Germany attended by over 350 delegates from nearly 70 countries and over 30 international observer organizations. Opening the meeting, Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. Maria Flachsbarth underlined the continuing importance of the work of the committee in protecting [...]

The new Codex website launches today with a clean, clear user experience and a range of new features. The website is the home for all Codex work. You will find dedicated thematic pages that highlight the broad scope of the Codex programme in areas such as contaminants, nutrition, antimicrobial resistance and biotechnology, allowing new visitors to begin to understand the work and impact of the food safety standards Codex develops. Six new regional web pages have been designed to promote specific Codex activities [...]