The 45th session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) has concluded in Budapest, Hungary. Following adoption of the meeting report, Chairperson Attila Nagy thanked all those involved in the smooth running of the week-long meeting and, in line with a CCMAS tradition, he provided the recipe for this year’s soup: Shoyu Ramen. CCMAS45 addressed a typical agenda this week, as well as hearing about and discussing plans for a new online database of the methods included [...]

The World Bank’s Knowledge Exchange Series of webinars focused in on the Codex Alimentarius in its session on Thursday 12 March, with discussion on how Codex standards and related texts are adopted and used within national contexts in South Asia. As moderator, Farbod Youssefi-Vash of the World Bank, explained, the aim in the discussion was to debate how to move away from thinking of Codex texts “as one-size-fits-all rulemaking, to incentivising compliance”. The four guests addressed a range of topics, which [...]

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 [...]

The World Food Safety Day 2026 campaign has launched with details of this year’s theme:  “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere”. Led by the World Health Organization (WHO), this year’s campaign is dedicated to highlighting the burden of foodborne diseases and the science-based solutions that can prevent them. Central to the 2026 theme is the upcoming release of updated WHO estimates of the foodborne disease burden, which will be published in June in a key findings report accompanied by [...]

Attila Nagy has been Chairperson the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) for almost a decade, and has previously served as Vice-chairperson of the committee. He is a passionate advocate for this work and is at the forefront of innovations such as databasing this vital work. We caught up with him to find out about his preparations for the 45th session of the committee, which will take place 9–13 March 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. Attila thanks for your [...]

Standards are "the hidden infrastructure of modern economies" according to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2025, which focuses on standards for development. In a corroboration of the Codex maxim that standards are the invisible thread that links up the food supply chain, the report considers Codex standards alongside many other types of standards. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was host, Monday 2 March, to an event led, in collaboration with the Codex Secretariat, by the World Bank team involved [...]

On 2 March 2026, the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development and the Codex Secretariat will host a high-level session to discuss the role of standards in global development. With the participation of FAO and IPPC, the event will center on findings from the World Development Report (WDR) 2025, Standards for Development, exploring how technical frameworks serve as the "hidden infrastructure" that determines the success of agrifood systems. The discussion will focus on the following areas: Standards underpin trust and market access [...]

The 29th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) has concluded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, having discussed a raft of topics and forwarded for preliminary adoption a draft standard for microbial omega-3 oils, amendments to the List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes (Appendix II to CXC 36-1987) and three proposals for new work for approval. “As chairperson of this Committee, I'm very honoured to be given this role,” said Chairperson, Zailina Abdul Majid, who chaired CCFO for the first [...]

The 29th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils has officially opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of Minister of Health Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Director-General of Health Malaysia, Mahathar bin Abd Wahab, Vice Chairpersons of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), Jing Tian and Khaled al Zharani, and Sarah Cahill, CAC Secretary. The proceedings will be chaired this week by Deputy Director-General of Health, Food Safety and Quality, Ministry [...]

The Republic of Korea marked its appointment as host country of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV) with a commemorative event held on 5 February in Seoul. Hosted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), the event brought together approximately 200 participants from government, international organizations, academia and the food industry, both in person and online. Representatives from the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were [...]