“Not only was this session the first full Codex committee meeting held by correspondence, it also took place during the very challenging and unexpected COVID-19 pandemic.” reflected Richard Boyd, Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV) as he concluded the 29th Session of the CCPFV on July 29th 2020.  Having worked by correspondence from January to July 2020, the Committee proposed five standards for adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. These include standards for dried fruits, [...]

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to our way of living, interacting and working. The way we have worked internationally to date has been turned on its head. With the cancellation of almost all physical Codex meetings for 2020, it is now essential to look to new ways of continuing the work. The 79th session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission successfully met virtually between 13 and 20th July 202. In the current context, if [...]

食品法典委员会执行委员会第79届会议（CCEXEC79）建议，食品卫生和食品过敏原管理的关键法典文本，以及一系列地区性和世界范围的商品标准（包括卡瓦胡椒、辣椒酱、猕猴桃、大蒜和山药等）将提交下一次食典委会议——食典委第43届会议（CAC43）——采纳。如果食典成员同意目前由食典委秘书处与粮农组织（FAO）和世卫组织（WHO）共同制定中的模式，本届会议将于9月下旬以虚拟形式召开。 CCEXEC79是第一次完全在线召开的食典会议，会议为期三个半天，并就正在进行的工作向食典委提出明确建议，特别是要确保按时完成有关抗生素耐药性的重要文本。 食典委主席Guilherme da Costa（巴西）说：“食品法典大家庭正在证明自己是一个出色的队伍，我们必须尽最大努力进一步制定和传播食品法典标准，确保世界各地所有人的食品安全和质量。” 执行委员会历史性的第一次虚拟会议，2020年7月13日至20日 会议还讨论了如果2021年无法举行实体会议，各技术委员会继续制定食品法典标准的方式，这些委员会通常在10多个不同国家主办。 “因为我们不能亲自开会而继续推迟会议不是一个选择。”食典委秘书长Tom Heilandt说：“如果我们不能照常开展工作，我们需要了解在哪里投入。食典成员已表现出极大的决心和灵活性，以虚拟形式继续他们的工作。然而，他们所有人都受到了影响，许多通常从事食品法典问题工作的专家，被要求在其本国从事疫情相关的工作。我们也非常清楚，在虚拟工作时，会为能否获得口译服务感到担忧，而且某些国家存在技术挑战。” 澳大利亚的Usha Sriram Prasad说：“我认为对我们来讲这是一个机遇，因为食典委会成为开拓者，就什么适合我们的情况实际推荐或提出建议。我们应利用新颖和创新的方法继续努力完成现有的工作，并考虑各委员会的未来工作事项和我们在这次疫情中吸取的教训。” 基于科学的食品安全标准 人们已经把食品安全这个问题作为大流行病的潜在后果提出，食品安全突出了继续遵守基于科学的食品安全标准的重要性。Srirami-Prasad说:“食品法典的各委员会，包括食品卫生委员会（Food Hygiene Committee）和食品进出口检验和认证系统法典委员会（Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems）制定的原则和准则可以为支持在大流行期间和之后继续开展安全食品开放贸易提供指导。” 肯尼亚的Kimutai Maritim说：“当有可能举行实体会议时，我们真的希望再次继续实体会议。”他说，如果采取混合会议的方式，一些成员将亲自出席，另一些成员则会虚拟出席，这可能会引发签证问题。“因此，我们需要谨慎……建立共识，包容各方。” 改善业绩 埃及的Hanan Fouad Hamid Ibrahim Hashem说:“我们必须在食品法典范围内向前推进。我们需要提出一些新的机制，并使用技术以改善食品法典的业绩并保证其未来，同时也能够借鉴其他地方其他组织的经验。” 瓦努阿图的Timothy Tumukon说，食品法典信托基金（Codex Trust Fund）“应该扩大其重点和范围，以支持发展中国家，特别是在确保它们能够履行食品法典规定的参与义务方面。” 执行委员会很快将审查大流行对食品法典工作的影响，并就如何最好地在2020-2021年继续工作向食典委提供建议。负责领导这项工作的食典委（Codex Alimentarius Commission）副主席Mariam Eid（黎巴嫩）说：“我们将与食品法典全体成员就这一议题交换意见。我们将在9月初准备一份中期答复，我们将尽一切可能尝试与成员进行接触，以确保所有想法和关切都能在预计于2020年11月发布的最终报告中得以探讨。”   了解更多 关于推荐采用的标准和新的工作提案的完整清单，请当CCEXEC79报告在食品法典网站上发布后阅读该报告。 图片来源 © FAO。 主图为食典委秘书长Tom Heilandt（左）和食典委主席Guilherme da Costa。  

The 12th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference, took place on Saturday 18 January 2020. The conference discussed how trade in food and agricultural commodities and trade in services for agriculture can contribute to achieving food security for the world's increasing population, enhancing nutrition and human health, improving farmers' livelihoods and income, and achieving more sustainable food systems to preserve the planet. The final communique from the conference called for trade policies to be part of a larger strategy (towards the improved [...]

Dr Mary Flynn and Oonagh Lyons Ireland is currently leading work in the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) on developing Codex nutrient reference values (NRVs) for persons aged 6 to 36 months. Dr Mary Flynn is Chief Specialist for Public Health Nutrition at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Visiting Professor, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, University of Ulster. Ms Oonagh Lyons is a Technical Executive at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland [...]

Richard Boyd from The United States Department of Agriculture, Chairperson of CCPFV,  explains the innovative approach being taken to develop a range of standards and encourages members and observers to take part. Richard Boyd chairs CCPFV CCPFV will be starting its 29th session at a unique location – and all interested countries and recognized observers are invited to participate.  In accordance with the guidance of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, CCPFV is continuing its work by correspondence, and to do this, the committee [...]

The COP is intended to provide guidance to reduce the formation of 3-MCPDE and GE in refined oils and food products made with these oils by offering good management practices for application by national authorities, producers, manufacturers and other relevant bodies.   The forty-second Codex Alimentarius Commission held in Geneva, Switzerland 8-12 July 2019, adopted a Code of Practice (COP) for the reduction of 3-Monochloropropane-1,2- diol esters (3-MCPDE) and Glycidyl Esters (GE) in refined oils and food products made with refined oils. The [...]

The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted a new strategic plan for the period 2020-2025 to advance the mandate of Codex for the next five years, underpinning the high priority for food safety and quality that Members and the parent bodies FAO and WHO envisage for Codex in carrying out its responsibilities and unique purpose to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in the food trade. The plan highlights a new focus on promoting the relevance and use of Codex standards [...]

Speaking at the margins of CAC42 at a side event on capacity building initiatives, representatives of FAO and WHO emphasized the importance of the tools they develop based on relevant Codex texts, which enable countries to better understand and apply standards in their national context. The latest in the series is the Joint FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool, which has been piloted in numerous countries across several regions. “A system will only work if all its components are looking towards [...]

Following the International Forum on Food Safety and Trade, held at the WTO, in Geneva, Switzerland, on 23-24 April 2019, with the support of FAO and WHO, a joint statement from the three organizations has highlighted the valuable work of the Codex Alimentarius. As global trade in food products expands and value chains become more complex, the development of international food safety standards for application at domestic levels and in international trade has become more important than ever before.  Consumers have [...]