On June 19 and 20, 2023 the Reference Conferences of the National Food Center (CNA) of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) took place online. This is an event held annually in which the Official Food Safety Control Laboratories of Spain meet with the Competent Authorities that designate them for this official control, with the aim of sharing the latest developments of interest in the field of work of the CNA as National Reference Laboratory for 19 networks [...]

The Sultanate of Oman declares its commitment to Codex and to international standards and guidelines for food safety and quality in a video recently released as part of the country’s celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius. The country has been a Codex Member for over 50 years and has actively participated in the development of global standards and in particular has played an active role in regional initiatives such as the Arab Codex initiative and the Gulf Cooperation [...]

In April 2023 the Peruvian General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety - DIGESA, organized a ceremony and conferences the celebrate the 60th anniversary of Codex. Staff at DIGESA celebrate the Codex 60th anniversary in Peru. Those taking part included Jorge Villena Chávez, former Director General of DIGESA, who initiated Codex work in Peru and was also their first national Codex Chairperson.   Learn more about the event (Spanish) Photo credit Main photo Jorge Villena Chávez with Libia Carlota Liza Quesquén from the Codex Contact [...]

As part of the celebrations for the Codex 60th anniversary, the Codex Secretariat has been gathering memories and stories from delegations attending committees in 2023. During the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues which took place in Beijing, China from 26 June to 1 July 2023, the Secretariat was able to capture the views of three different Codex Members and a member of the invaluable interpretation team. Here are their stories.   Karsten Hohgardt, Germany    Warren Hughes, New Zealand    Steven Mines, Interpreter    Noemi Kiss, Hungary      Learn more Catch up on [...]

In mid-June 2023, just weeks after marking World Food Safety Day, New Zealand celebrated 60 years of success in Codex at The Beehive, New Zealand Parliament. The anniversary festivities were attended by the Minister for Food Safety, Hon Rachel Brooking and the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O’Connor.  Representatives from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) also attended, including Director-General Ray Smith, Deputy Director-General (DDG) Policy and Trade Julie Collins, acting DDG New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) Jenny Bishop, and other [...]

Korea recently marked the successful celebration of the 22nd Korean Food Safety Day and on the occasion of this achievement, we had the opportunity to interview Yu-Kyoung Oh, the Minister of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea. We wanted to delve into the country's accomplishments in the field of food safety management. The minister shared her insights and outlined the plans to ensure that food safety remains a paramount concern in Korea.  Congratulations on the 22nd Korean Food [...]

The Codex Contact Point (CCP) in Poland has completed the translation of a foundation Codex text, the General Principles of Food Hygiene into Polish. “This standard is of the greatest interest to stakeholders in Poland,” said Magdalena Kowalska (pictured second left), “and we have frequently been asked about access to this particular document by food business operators.” The project is part of Polish celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission which coincides with 60 years of the CCP in [...]

Mr. Zhang Xingwang, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, (pictured above) opened the 54th session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR), taking place from 26 June to 1 July 2023 in Beijing, China. This committee sets the largest number of numerical standards in Codex and over the past 15 sessions in China has discussed and adopted over 5 000 maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides. CCPR has also revised [...]

As part of the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Codex Secretariat has been talking to experts who lead work in committees to understand their motivation, their work and their views on the world of Codex in general. At the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, which took place in Budapest, Hungary from 12 to 16 June 2023, we caught up with Greg Noonan who is Director in the Bioanalytical Chemistry Division of the Food and [...]

In 2022 the Codex Secretariat began work on reviewing the formatting and layout of Codex texts to ensure consistency, to meet FAO and international publishing standards and to enhance readability. A digital object identifier (DOI) has also been added to standards as they are published, providing a unique reference that can support tracking and citation of each text. The project is part of the Codex Secretariat’s contribution to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. At the [...]