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Codex Alimentarius Commission (CJW-701)

Title Codex Alimentarius Commission
Code CJW-701
Sessions and documents

View documents of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

Legal Framework
Article of Constitution

Article VI.1

Origin

The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established by the Eleventh Session of the FAO Conference in 1961. Following the recommendations of the FAO Conference, those of the Twenty-ninth Session of the WHO Executive Board and a Joint FAO/WHO Executive Board and a Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Standards held in 1962, the Commission has been responsible for the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.

Statutes

The Statutes of the Commission are issued in its Procedural Manual.

Rules of Procedure

Amendments were adopted by the Commission at the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 21st and 23rd sessions and confirmed by the FAO and WHO in accordance with their respective procedures.

The Rules of Procedure of the Commission are issued in its Procedural Manual.

Category Cat. 1
Purpose

The Commission is responsible for making proposals to, and shall be consulted by, the Directors-General of FAO and WHO on all matters pertaining to the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, the purpose of which is:

  • a. To protect the health of the consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade;
  • b. to promote coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations;
  • c. to determine priorities, to initiate and guide the preparation of draft standards through, and with, the aid of appropriate organizations;
  • d. to finalize standards elaborated under (c) above and, after acceptance by Governments, publish them in a Codex Alimentarius either as regional or worldwide standards together with international standards already finalized by other Bodies under (b) above, wherever practicable;
  • e. to amend published standards after appropriate survey in the light of development.
Secretary Mr Tom Heilandt
Membership

Open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO and WHO which are interested in international food standards. Membership comprises those nations which have notified the Director-General of FAO or of WHO of their wish to be considered as Members of the Commission.

Chairperson Mr Steve Wearne (UK)
Number of Members 188 + 1 (European Union)
List of Members
  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahamas
  • Bahrain
  • Bangladesh
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Belize
  • Benin
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Bulgaria
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cabo Verde
  • Cambodia
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Cook Islands
  • Costa Rica
  • Côte d'Ivoire
  • Croatia
  • Cuba
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Denmark
  • Djibouti
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Eswatini
  • Ethiopia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Ghana
  • Greece
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Guyana
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran (Islamic Republic of)
  • Iraq
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Kiribati
  • Kuwait
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • Latvia
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Malta
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Micronesia (Federated States of)
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Myanmar
  • Namibia
  • Nauru
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Qatar
  • Republic of Korea
  • Republic of Moldova
  • Romania
  • Russian Federation
  • Rwanda
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Samoa
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sudan
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Tajikistan
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste
  • Togo
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Türkiye
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • United Republic of Tanzania
  • United States of America
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
  • Viet Nam
  • Yemen
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
Languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
Document symbol CX/CAC (until 32nd Session: ALINORM)
Frequency of Sessions Normally one session per year
Contact information/email

[email protected]

Web site

CODEX Alimentarius

First Session June/July 1963
Subsidiary Bodies

Executive Committee

General Subject Committees

Commodity Committees

FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees