As the 78th session of the Executive Board of the Codex Alimentarius Commission got underway at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Naoko Yamamoto (main photo), Assistant Director General, WHO, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to work closely with FAO in order to enhance the role of the Executive Board to review and optimize the operations of the whole Codex Alimentarius Commission. Acknowledging WHO’s role in working closely with member states and FAO to strengthen food systems and improve [...]

The Executive Board of the World Health Organization has endorsed a draft food safety resolution and will now send it for consideration by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2020. Two thirds of Executive Board members took the floor and strongly supported the resolution. Many member states are now sponsors of the draft resolution, which was negotiated with the European Union as chair. Dirk Lange, European Commission, said: “This WHA resolution will put food safety high on the international political [...]

Le Secrétariat du Codex confirme que la cinquante-deuxième session du Comité sur les additifs alimentaires (CCFA), qui se devait se tenir à Lanzhou, en Chine, du 2 au 6 mars 2020 est reportée en raison de la situation qui se présente due à la découverte d’un nouveau coronavirus (2019-nCoV). En collaboration avec la Commission Nationale de Santé de la Chine et le Secrétariat hôte du CCFA, le Secrétariat du Codex étudie la possibilité d’organiser la réunion en Chine, en un lieu [...]

The Codex Secretariat is monitoring the current situation in China regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) via WHO daily updates and the advice from the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee. Codex is also consulting closely with the Chinese authorities via the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) and Pesticide Residues (CCPR) Host Secretariats. As reported on the WHO website on 29 January 2020, the Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) will be reconvened by the World Health Organization [...]

A team from the FAO Food Safety and Quality Unit together with representatives from the Codex Secretariat and the FAO Nutrition Department travelled to Parma, Italy today to meet with the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA). The meeting was an opportunity to find common ground and share insights on a range of issues including scientific opinions, risk communication and possibilities for cooperation on major campaigns such as World Food Safety Day and the International Year of Plant Health. Bernhard Url, Executive [...]

Strengthening the existing regulatory framework for agricultural trade is essential to ensuring the availability of safe and nutritious foods now and in the future. Multilateral trade rules provide a framework for predictability, transparency and cooperation. They can limit distortions, minimize unnecessary barriers to trade and facilitate trade itself. Complying with international standards is also important for ensuring food safety, quality and consumer awareness. Speaking at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), an international conference on agri-food policy issues held [...]

The 12th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference, took place on Saturday 18 January 2020. The conference discussed how trade in food and agricultural commodities and trade in services for agriculture can contribute to achieving food security for the world's increasing population, enhancing nutrition and human health, improving farmers' livelihoods and income, and achieving more sustainable food systems to preserve the planet. The final communique from the conference called for trade policies to be part of a larger strategy (towards the improved [...]

From 16 to 18 January 2020, around 2 000 global experts from politics, industry, science and civil society are meeting at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin, Germany to discuss global key issues and to jointly develop solutions. The forum is looking at trade for global food security from all angles and is an opportunity to discuss how to shape international trade in order for it to provide secure, diverse and sustainable food and nutrition for [...]

The European Union (EU) is celebrating the 40 years of the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. Food safety is an issue of national and international significance, an issue that affects all countries and has a substantial impact on both public health and economic activity. Operating since 1979, RASFF is one of the great success stories of the EU’s integrated approach to food safety, showing the power of communication and collaboration. By providing a system for the swift exchange of [...]

Gyanendra Gongal, from Nepal, has recently been appointed WHO Regional Adviser for food safety in the WHO Regional Office for South East Asia (SEARO), the first time in two decades, in his words, that someone will be working full time on food safety in the region. His new role involves providing technical leadership, supporting the Codex Trust Fund (CTF), and working on policy advocacy, Codex, risk assessment, food safety emergency and INFOSAN activities. Why are you excited about the new position? There hasn’t [...]