The Codex Guidelines for ready-to-use therapeutic foods, or RUTF, have been published in the revised format which is part of the drive in the Codex Secretariat to enhance the availability of all Codex standards, guidelines and codes of practice. By the implementation of a digital object identifier (doi) –which remains unique over the lifetime of a document, even when its location and other metadata may change – the Secretariat is aligning its texts to industry standards and taking advantage of [...]

The 53rd session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, hosted by the United States of America opened in San Diego, California on 27 November 2022, with over 200 participants from 63 countries registered to take part. The keynote address was given by Linda J Harris, Professor of Cooperative Extension in Microbial Food Safety, Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Linking the realities of water scarcity and foodborne outbreaks in the United States to the work of [...]

To strengthen capacity for better and more effective participation in Codex work for selected Asian countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), organized a virtual regional workshop on “Enhancing Effective Participation in Codex Activities” from 20 to 22 September 2022. The workshop is part of a wider five-year programme sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) which enhances Capacity in Codex for Effective Participation and Contribution of Selected Countries in Asia. A [...]

In line with the SPS Agreement, a new World trade Organization (WTO) publication on easing trade bottlenecks recommends land-locked developing countries (LLDCs) actively participate in the standard-setting processes  – under the Codex Alimentarius, the Organisation for Animal Health and the International Plant Protection Convention – to ensure that WTO sanitary and phytosanitary standards meet their needs. The WTO SPS Agreement sets out the basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards. SPS measures are technical in nature and [...]

The agreement reached at the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses on a new guideline on Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) means there will now be an official document that can serve as a reference for national governments to use in their policies for nutritional treatment of childhood wasting, says Alison Fleet of UNICEF’s supply division. This guideline is expected to be used as a tool for regulation of RUTF products that are given to vulnerable populations, and [...]

Hosted by the United States, the meeting is running from 12 to 16 July 2021 and has so far discussed several items from a full programme of business. The committee has heard concerns regarding carryover in feed and transfer from feed to food of unavoidable and unintended residues of approved veterinary drugs. Delegates concluded that the provisions in the current Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding (CXC 54-2004) already provide sufficient advice to Codex Members on unintended carryover of [...]

This week saw wide interest in trade standards that will be deliberated at the upcoming 25th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS25), to be held virtually from 31 May to 8 June 2021. Two webinars held on Tuesday and Thursday 23 and 25 March 2021 brought together over 300 Codex Members and Observers as part of the series of Codex technical sessions updating delegates on topics on the agendas of subsidiary bodies [...]

A webinar taking place on 5 February 2021, 12:00-13:30 CET, entitled Feed safety – Good Practices for the Feed Sector Matter, will bring together experts from FAO and the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) to discuss the importance of feed safety in the sustainable production of safe food of animal origin. The event will also see the launch of a new manual on implementing the Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding. Primary producers, including farmers and the feed [...]

Steve Wearne, Vice-Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, from the United Kingdom, spoke at the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement (or SPS) committee’s thematic session on 3 November 2020, to explain the value that voluntary third-party assurance (vTPA) can add to National Food Control Systems.  Participants heard about the UK experience of using vTPA data in a new approach to animal feed inspection and enforcement, which has achieved an 83 percent reduction in official inspections, while investing more than ever [...]

According to data published by FAO in The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020, global fish production in 2018 is estimated to have reached about 179 million tonnes with fisheries and aquaculture playing a significant and growing role in providing food, nutrition and employment. Fish accounts for 17 percent of the global population’s intake of animal protein. This updated version of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products delivers key technical guidance on the harvesting, processing, transport and [...]