On 24 November 2022, the Institutional Strategic Plan was signed by the members of the National Codex Committee (CNCA) of Bolivia. The plan aims to promote the use of Codex standards to facilitate trade and protect consumer health. It was developed by representatives from the public, private, academic and consumer sectors and was an additional outcome of a FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund Project. Read the full story in Spanish

The National Codex Alimentarius Committee of Bolivia, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) held a training on procedures for establishing a Codex country position and the interrelationship between the agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. The workshop was aimed at staff of public and private institutions, as well as members of the national committee and took place in La Paz on 21 and 22 November 2022. Read the full story in Spanish [...]

World Food Safety Day messages were delivered this year by ministers and experts in Uganda, who encouraged food business operators throughout the supply chain to help improve food safety within the country. The messages were delivered through TV and print media and a three-day training course was implemented “for food business operators and regulators in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries”, according to The New Vision news outlet. The activities were organized as part of the [...]

At the pharmaceuticals company, Abbott Nutrition India, staff and employees celebrated World Food Safety Day this year, with a number of different activities. Over 250 team members took part in food safety discussions and listened to key messages from site leaders and messages about World Food Safety Day on the year’s theme, Safer Food, Better Health. Key staff contributors to food safety were recognized by management and a company-wide quiz saw prizes handed out to winners.  

As part of the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project, FAO Pakistan organized a national workshop on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on 24-26 October 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan. More than 50 experts representing different sectors concerned with AMR human health, animal health, agriculture, poultry, dairy and pharmaceutical industry reviewed the key areas of the AMR National Action Plan (NAP).  “We assessed the progress of the implementation, as well as engaged food and agriculture stakeholders, and identified gaps and [...]

The latest edition of the Codex magazine has been published to coincide with the 43rd Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) taking place from 21-25 November 2022 in Rome. CODEX – a year in transition, tells the story of the core activities that take place between one Commission and the next and that lead to CAC45 being able to set over 20 standards protecting consumer health and facilitating trade. Contributions from all regions, all committees and all the people in the Codex world make [...]

Food production, processing and trading technology is evolving at a rapid pace. Consequently the Codex Alimentarius Commission is expanding its set of standards to ensure that consumer health remains protected, while practices in the trade of food are fair. Today FAO/WHO are announcing the launch of a completely new series of multilingual eLearning courses on Codex accessible free of charge online and in downloadable format. “The new courses have been meticulously developed to make sure we a have an up to [...]

The 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission has agreed by a vote to adopt the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for zilpaterol, a veterinary drug used to enhance growth performance in cattle, at Step 5 in the Codex process for developing food safety standards. The Commission did not agree, also by a vote, to change its rules for this session and allow for the work to advance directly to the final Step 8  which would have paved the way for CAC45 to consider final [...]

Over 350 online delegates joined nearly 400 returning to FAO for a physical session for the first time in three years as the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) opened on 21 November 2022. QU Dongyu Director-General of FAO, welcomed participants and underlined how rapidly advancing technology has made hybrid meetings such as CAC45 possible in full transparency, ensuring no one is left behind. Science and data play a crucial role in the work of the Codex standard-setting body, he said, also making reference to the [...]

The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Steve Wearne, United Kingdom, in consultation with the Vice-Chairpersons and the Codex Secretariat has published a letter to Codex Members and Observers outlining how he intends to conduct discussions on whether the Commssion should establish maximum residue limits for zilpaterol, a veterinary drug used to enhance growth performance in cattle, at the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commssion which begins at FAO HQ in Rome, Italy on Monday 21 November 2022. CAC45 / a new format and [...]