Director-General and Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission discuss stronger collaboration

13 November 2019, Rome - FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met today with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, together with three Vice Chairs – Mariam Eid from Lebanon, Purwiyatno Hariyadi from Indonesia and Steve Wearne from the United Kingdom.

The Director-General expressed full support for the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, whose Secretariat is hosted at FAO, and all parties agreed on the importance of science-based international food standards.

The Director-General also highlighted that Codex activities should be more visible, tangible and efficient, unleashing their potential to ensure fair practices in food trade and to protect consumers’ health.

Finally, he strongly encouraged Codex Officers to strengthen their efforts to get more countries adopting the Codex standards. In relation to developing countries, particularly in the African continent, he mentioned the importance of capacity building, developing regulatory systems and establishing appropriate laboratories for them to be fully prepared and comply with the standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The Codex Alimentarius, or "Food Code", is a collection of standards, guidelines and codes of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission, also known as CAC, is the central part of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme and was established by FAO and WHO to protect consumer health and promote fair trade. It held its first meeting in 1963.