In September 2016 the Italian magazine CiBi published an edited version of this article as part of an ongoing collaboration between FAO and CiBi. The CiBi articles aim to raise awareness with the magazine's readership about the different areas of work in FAO. St Anthony's Fire In the Middle Ages a type of food poisoning called ergotism, also commonly known as “St Anthony’s fire”, was prevalent in northern Europe amongst high consumers of rye bread. Eating food contaminated with ergot would lead [...]

The Online Commenting System (OCS) is a new way for Codex members and observers to provide input during the standard setting process. The Codex OCS uses the Please Review software by PleaseTech All users of the OCS, including Codex members and observers can now download the updated OCS user manual, available in English, French and Spanish. The OCS user manual is available at the following page, along with additional training material: http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/ocs/en/  Here are the direct links to the English, French and Spanish versions. For [...]

OPGA/WHO/FAO/OIE Joint News Release Collective effort to address a challenge to health, food security, and development 21 September 2016, New York – World leaders today signalled an unprecedented level of attention to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi develop resistance against medicines that were previously able to cure them. For the first time, Heads of State committed to taking a broad, coordinated approach to address the root causes of [...]

Global leaders will meet at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next Friday - 21 September 2016 to debate the emerging challenge posed by medicine-resistant "superbugs". Only on three other occasions (HIV, noncommunicable diseases and Ebola) has the General Assembly held a high-level meeting to discuss such matters, clearly indicating the global threat that AMR represents. FAO Action Plan FAO has pledged to help countries develop strategies for tackling the spread of antimicrobial resistance in their food supply chains.  Supporting the food [...]

28th session from 12th-16th September - Washington D.C. This Codex commodity committee (CCPFV) has a mandate to elaborate worldwide standards and related texts for all types of processed fruits and vegetables, including canned, dried and frozen products as well as fruit and vegetable juices and nectars. The meeting will be focusing on completing the revision of the the Standard for Canned Pineapple which will become one of the annexes to the Standard for Certain Canned Fruits. It will also complete the revision of [...]

All new and revised Codex texts now available on line. The Codex mandate is to develop harmonised international food standards, which protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade. The 39th Commission held last July in Rome, adopted 39 Codex texts (Standards, Guidelines and Codes of Practice)  If national governments adopt these standards, as with all Codex standards then barriers to trade are removed and all consumers can benefit from safe food of good quality. One of the new standards deals with nutrition [...]

New timing to boost strategic planning in Codex. From Tuesday 29th August to Thursday 1st September the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC) will be meeting at the World Health Organization HQ in Geneva. CCEXEC brings together strategists and technical experts from the global Codex community  This meeting less than two months after the 39th session of the Commission (CAC39) marks a change in the recent organisation of Executive Committee meetings. Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt explained the reasons for this new [...]

During its most recent 2016 session, the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted two key guidelines that use sound science for setting a baseline for the fair and transparent trade in food. Most importantly, once implemented, they will have immediate and long term consequences for public health. One of them has to do with the control of Salmonellosis and the other with foodborne parasites. We asked Dr Jose Emilio Esteban, Executive Associate for Laboratory Services in the Food Safety and Inspection Service at [...]

On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The full title of the goals is "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and the UN declaration recognizes that: eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. How is Codex working to achieve these goals? 6 goals for safer, better food for everyone, everywhere. The first SDG [...]

The Codex Online Commenting System (OCS) is an innovative tool that will revolutionise the way Codex develops standards. Moving from a paper based system to an online platform will encourage greater global participation in the work of standard setting and faster, simpler solutions for forumlating Codex texts and building consensus on the standards themselves. The platform was launched at the 39th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, held in Rome from 27 June to 1 July 2016 where delegates had the opportunity [...]