Penny K. Lukito, Head of the Food and Drug Authority of the Republic of Indonesia opened the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF), held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia 29 April to 3 May, 2019 and stated how proud Indonesia was to once again be trusted with co-hosting a Codex meeting.

Indonesia and The Netherlands are co-hosting CCCF13

The meeting is being attended by approximately 250 participants from 60 countries and in greeting delegates Wieke Tas, Chairperson from the permanent hosts of the committee, The Netherlands, said, “Co-hosting for us is a means to bring Codex and everything it stands for closer to the different regions in the world”. The countries that co-host are able to show their commitment to Codex and strengthen regional and local Codex organization.

Senior FAO Food Safety Officer Markus Lipp said that it was the “unwavering commitments” the two co-hosts demonstrated that were essential to the work of the committee. Food safety and Codex sit at the core of the normative work of FAO and WHO and are key to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “Food safety is critical to all”, said Lipp and the link between “food safety and food security is one of the most critical problems to solve for every consumer”.

Kim Peterson, Scientific Officer in the WHO Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, emphasised the importance of the work of CCCF in finding ways to reduce consumer exposure to contaminated food. There is increasing evidence that the climate and the environment are changing. “We can only imagine how these changes will impact our food systems and access to safe food”, he said.

FAO/WHO announce new countries to be supported by the Codex Trust Fund (CTF)

The FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund is in its third year of operation and, thanks to donor contributions, continues to support countries to build strong and sustainable national Codex systems that will allow all countries to participate fully and effectively in the work of Codex. 

The new countries to receive support are Benin, Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Gambia, Malawi, Nigeria and Turkmenistan. A group application from the African region will also be supported. The countries involved are Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

“The Codex Trust Fund is designed to strengthen the capacities of emerging economies to participate in the Codex process and ensure that their nation’s concerns are represented at the meetings”, said Lipp in making the announcement to delegates in Yogyakarta. CTF also seeks to improve the capabilities of countries to implement Codex standards in the national setting to improve food safety for all. FAO and WHO have already assigned key personnel to the new projects and are committed to working with participants to strengthen structures and processes that will ensure a sustained enhanced participation of these countries in the Codex process.

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Follow the CCCF13 meeting agenda and read all working documents

Read about the Codex Trust Fund