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 [...]

Zailina Abdelmajid is the new Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) and will chair the 29th CCFO session when it takes place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 9–13 February. She is not, however, new to the work of this Committee, having worked in the CCFO Secretariat since 2013.  We asked Zailina to tell us a bit about herself and about her hopes and expectations for her tenure as Chairperson. She also talked about the work to be undertaken [...]

Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), is holding a three-day workshop, 20-22 January 2026, in Riyadh, titled “One Codex: together we learn, together we lead”. The workshop aims to strengthen collaboration, leadership and coordination among Codex coordinators, and highlights the importance of Codex regions for the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).  In welcoming the participants, H.E. Prof. Hisham Saad Al Jadhey, CEO of SFDA, stressed that “the gathering of Codex leaders in this workshop represents a platform for exchanging expertise and knowledge, and exploring opportunities [...]

As the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) returns to its traditional July meeting cycle, Codex Secretary Sarah Cahill outlines the roadmap for 2026 and beyond. In this recent interview, she details how the Codex Secretariat is working to stabilize the global meeting schedule, leveraging digital transformation, and assisting Members and Observers in developing international food standards.  From AI-assisted drafting to digital traceability, the Codex Secretary describes the need to balance cutting-edge technology with the human consensus required to protect consumers over the next five years. The goal remains clear: to deliver standards that are both scientifically robust and practically implementable for regulators and businesses worldwide, [...]