The 45th session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) has opened in Budapest Hungary for a week of deliberations on topics relating to a range of commodities and issues.

Opening the meeting, the President of Hungary’s national food chain safety office (Nebih), Dr Imre Nemes DVM, underlined the importance and significance for Hungary of hosting this highly technical committee, describing the role as “a responsibility for scientific soundness, transparency and international cooperation.” He continued: “the work of Codex committees has become one of the most important pillars of food safety globally. The continuously emerging and regularly revised international standards, as well as risk assessments based on the latest scientific findings, ensure that consumers around the world have confidence in the safety and quality of food.” He told delegates that Codex standards “serve as the basis for food safety and quality legislation in Hungary”, and, pointing to one of this week’s topics in particular, he emphasized that for Hungary, “it is important that honey issues are also on the agenda. Hungary is one of the world's major honey producers, and our honeys … are not only of excellent quality, but are also important export products.” While underlining the importance of Codex participation for Hungary, he also reiterated that “it is equally important to contribute to the development of global food safety by learning from each other's experiences.”

Vice-Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Jing Tian, also warmly welcomed delegates and thanked the Codex Secretariat and the host secretariat “for the excellent preparations and thoughtful arrangements that have enabled this meeting to take place smoothly.” She encouraged

delegates to embrace Codex values in this week’s discussions, because “ultimately,” she said, “the work of this Committee helps ensure that Codex standards remain credible, relevant and can be trusted by governments, industry and consumers.”

Mary Kenny, Food safety and consumer protection officer in FAO’s Europe and Central Asia, also greeted delegates, praising the hosts for “providing exceptional vision, leadership and technical support to the work of CCMAS”. “Food standards are the backbone of a global food system that feeds billions of people around the world,” she continued, adding in reference to the work of CCMAS that it “remains the foundation of Codex standards. Without harmonized methods of analysis and sampling, the food standards we set cannot be enforced or verified - and this is essential for consumer health protection.”

The week’s agenda includes discussion on the fruit juice, cocoa products and chocolate and sugar and honey workable packages, as well as, in particular, proposed methods of analysis for precautionary allergen labelling.

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CCMAS45 webpage