In 1964, at its second session, the Codex Alimentarius Commission established the Coordinating Committee for Europe to succeed the 'European Council of the Codex Alimentarius' and to replace the 'Advisory Group for Europe' set up at its first session in 1963.
The first meeting of the Coordinating Committee for Europe took place in July 1965 in Berne, Switzerland and was attended by 16 countries from the region.
The current coordinator, Germany, is based in the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Germany’s main priorities as coordinator are to:
- reduce barriers to active participation of Members of the region in Codex work;
- increase the awareness of the role of Codex and food safety in general in the transition towards sustainable food systems; and
- promote the use of Codex standards in priority areas such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
In addressing these priorities, the coordinator will use synergies from international and regional level activities of the Codex Secretariat, FAO and WHO as well as Codex Observers.
In Tajikistan, the national workshop “Launch of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Trust Fund Project. Priority Committees. Codex Electronic Tools” was held in Dushanbe, 18–20 November 2024. The workshop marks the start of the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund (CTF) project in the country. The event was opened with a series of welcoming speeches from the representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Said Davlatzoda, the representatuive of the WHO Country Office, Umeda Sadykova, and WHO expert Nailya Karsybekova of [...]
On 3–4 October 2024, in Samarkand, a workshop was organized for food safety officers and scientific research institutes from national and regional levels, within the framework of the project on “Strengthening National Capacities for Sustainable Implementation of the Codex Alimentarius in Uzbekistan". The project is funded by the Codex Trust Fund Project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and aims to strengthen national capacities for sustainable implementation of the [...]
As part of the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund project, the Kazakhstan Codex Alimentarius Group conducted field workshops under the theme of “Priority food safety issues” in eight regions of the country.
In general, the seminars were held with the participation of specialists from the sanitary and epidemiological control of the Ministry of Health, the Committee for Veterinary Control and Surveillance of the Ministry of Agriculture, branches of the National Center of Expertise, the National Chamber of Food Producers, “Atameken”, scientists, teachers [...]
On Tuesday 25 June, a webinar brought together experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform and inspire food safety professionals from across Europe and Central Asia to better manage known and emerging food safety risks.
“FAO is working closely with the countries of the region to enhance their capacities to be prepared,” said Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader for Europe and Central Asia in his welcome words. [...]
To raise awareness on proper food safety and management, a workshop was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on World Food Safety Day to help consumers, producers and officials focus on an issue often taken for granted. The workshop was organized by FAO, in partnership with Kyrgyz Economic University. “The date, 7 June is more than just a date on the calendar,” said Kuvatbek Bapaev, Acting FAO Deputy Representative in Kyrgyzstan and an FAO technical adviser, during his [...]
The Portuguese food and beverages company, Sumol Compal, celebrated World Food Safety Day for the third consecutive year this year.
This celebration at Sumol Compal took place during the month of June across three sites on three separate days, opening its doors to students and recent graduates to raise awareness about the importance of preventing food safety incidents.
Following a visit to production sites, participants were challenged to get involved in a case study simulating a supplier alert for a potential physical [...]
World Food Safety Day was celebrated in an event at the Lusófona de Lisboa University in Portugal, where the risk of parasites in sushi was discussed.
Two lectures were presented by two of the researchers/teachers who have the most contact with parasitology. They explained the concern of the existence of parasites in fish that is destined for raw consumption, how they spread among marine inhabitants and how they reach humans.
In the laboratory, participants learned how to find various nematodes essentially in [...]
On 7 June 2024, WHO Ukraine in cooperation with FAO Ukraine, Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Public Health Center of Ukraine and the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection held a webinar on food safety for the students of public health, veterinary studies, food safety, food technology faculties, as well as for general public.
Over 821 registered to take part and 480 attended the two-hour online gathering to learn from national and international food safety experts as [...]
In celebration of World Food Safety Day on 7 June, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a new podcast episode entitled Prepared for the Unexpected.
The episode explores the importance of identifying the source of foodborne disease outbreaks to ensure consumers are protected, and how the teams in place respond to food safety incidents and stay prepared.
The episode is hosted by Edward Bray, Communications Officer in EFSA’s Communication Unit, with the participation of Eleonora Sarno, Scientific Officer in [...]
Raising awareness of what we can all do to be prepared for the unexpected, regardless of our role in the "farm to fork" chain, was the goal of the round table organized by the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food (HAPIH) in Osijek, on the occasion of the national celebration of this year's World Food Safety Day.
The round table was organized with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) [...]