The latest edition of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Procedural Manual has been published online. This publication defines Codex’s Rules of Procedure, the procedures for the elaboration of the Codex Alimentarius, and the guidelines for the operation of Codex committees. It also sets a precedent for Codex’s other written materials.

“This latest version underscores our commitment to continuous improvement, ensuring the Codex Procedural Manual remains a consistent and reliable guide for our work” said Sarah Cahill, Codex Secretary. “As usual, discussions regarding the Codex Procedural Manual will continue to be a feature of our Codex meetings throughout the year, ensuring it remains a dynamic and effective resource for all of us”.

A consistent and reliable guide for our work

The new edition follows the agreement at the 47th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to include three changes to “Section 4.6: Risk analysis principles applied by the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods”:

1) a revision of "Annex C: Approach for the extrapolation of maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs to one or more species"

2) the inclusion of "Annex D: Criteria and procedures for the establishment of action levels for residues of veterinary drugs in food of animal origin resulting from unavoidable and unintentional veterinary drug carryover in non-target animal feed"

3) a consequential amendment to paragraph 133, “Establishment of priority list”.

The 30th edition also incorporates changes to “Section 5.1: Table of committees, document references and terms of reference,” following the decision by the Commission to reactivate the Codex Committee on Cereals, Pulses and Legumes, and editorial changes to more consistently harmonize language, particularly around synonymous language, clarify abbreviations and provide more accurate cross-referencing through numbered subsections.

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Download the 30th edition of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Procedural Manual