The World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) references the texts developed by three standards setting bodies, as the reference standards for plant and animal health and food safety in international trade. Those three bodies are the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). These bodies are known collectively as the three sisters.

When implemented, the standards set by the three sisters help to ensure food safety and quality in countries and in trade, and the disease-free, healthy and safe trade in plants and plant products and animals and animal products. Each of the three sisters has developed mechanisms by which they can monitor the use and impact of their standards, in order to identify barriers to participation in the standards setting processes and to the implementation of these texts, which are so fundamental to the health of humans, animals, plants and the planet.

Because the three sisters’ work is complementary and mutually important, the monitoring work, approaches, findings, challenges and successes for each can inform the others. Now, the three bodies have collaborated on a short report about their experiences on monitoring the use and impact of standards, the challenges they face and ways forward.

Download the report here

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Monitoring of Codex standards
The IPPC Observatory
The WOAH Observatory