La Secretaría del Codex ha anunciado que, de común acuerdo con las respectivas secretarías de los países anfitriones del Comité sobre Contaminantes de los Alimentos (CCCF), el Comité sobre Sistemas de Inspección y Certificación de Importaciones y Exportaciones de Alimentos (CCFICS) y el Comité sobre Métodos de Análisis y Toma de Muestras (CCMAS), ha decidido cancelar sus reuniones debido al brote del COVID-19 en curso. “Dada la creciente gravedad de la situación, teníamos que proporcionar información clara a quienes se están [...]

En las reuniones del Codex participan expertos de todo el mundo y el calendario para 2020 comprende 15 comités programados en múltiples lugares en cinco continentes. En las orientaciones internas de la FAO para el personal, incluida la Secretaría del Codex, emitidas a raíz del brote del COVID-19 se establece que los viajes se limitarán a “misiones fundamentales y viajes esenciales en los que el tiempo apremia”. Esto significa, por ejemplo, que el taller previsto en Francia del 27 al 29 [...]

La Secretaría del Codex junto con las secretarías hospedantes de los comités del Codex están siguiendo la evolución de la situación relativa al brote de COVID-19 y están evaluando las posibles repercusiones que ello tendrá en las próximas reuniones del Codex. Publicaremos información actualizada sobre el estado de todas las reuniones del Codex que estaban programadas para que se celebraran entre marzo y junio de 2020 apenas esté disponible, y un informe ulterior de la situación será facilitado como muy tarde [...]

Due to the exceptional circumstances related to the expansion of the COVID-19 outbreak in France and in different parts of the world, serious consideration had to be given regarding the scheduled Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP), due to be held in Bordeaux from 23-27 March 2020. The host government, France, through the CCGP Secretariat and in agreement with the Codex Secretariat regret to announce that CCGP32 has therefore been postponed. Information regarding new dates and the venue will be published as [...]

Madagascar is continuing its efforts to build the capacity of its members with the support of the Codex Trust Fund. A four-day training workshop in Antananarivo from 24-27 February 2020 set out to integrate new members and provide a refresher for more experienced members. The workshop also dealt with the redefinition of priority committees for Madagascar, the formulation of national positions, preparation for sessions as well as the use of online Codex tools. After this training, Madagascar will further improve [...]

Over 1 000 food safety stakeholders from around the world gathered in Seattle, USA this week for the 2020 Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Conference, which also marked the 20th anniversary for the GFSI. Action is more urgent than ever. Addressing the conference, Peter Freedman, Managing Director of the Consumer Goods Forum said 2020 marked a moment of change in governance and strategy for GFSI. “Action is more urgent than ever”, he said, citing the climate advocate Greta Thunberg. “Our agenda remains [...]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), meeting from 26-27 February 2020, in Geneva Switzerland at WTO headquarters, seeks to ensure that technical regulations and standards, including packaging, marking and labelling requirements do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Just as with the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, the TBT Agreement encourages members at all levels of development to participate in relevant standard-setting bodies. This is important to ensure that these bodies produce standards on products [...]

To strengthen Cambodia’s capacity for better and more effective participation in Codex work, FAO in collaboration with the General Directorate of CAMCONTROL, Ministry of Commerce organized a training workshop from 18- 20 February 2020. The training is part of a wider five year programme sponsored by Japan which supports capacity building for international food safety standard development and implementation for ASEAN countries.  A total of 40 officials from various sectors including government officials from CAMCONTROL, (the national Codex Contact Point), relevant ministries, [...]

Pesticides are potentially toxic to humans and especially for those who work or come into close contact with them. Yet pesticides also play a key role in food production; protecting or increasing yields and the number of times per year a crop can be grown on the same land. This is particularly important in countries that face food shortages. FAO and WHO are responsible for assessing the risks to humans of pesticides – both through direct exposure, and through residues in [...]

At the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission held at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva on 10-14 February 2020, Bukar Tijani (pictured left), FAO Assistant Director-General for the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department emphasized the need for Codex to remain alert to emerging issues that will impact its work. Describing the nature of diseases that can spread from animals to humans and then cross borders, Tijani said that outbreaks such as African swine fever or COVID-19 [...]