The 18th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, held in 1989, agreed to establish a new Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific, bringing together, in the words of the New Zealand delegation "far flung countries ... which have many common interests".
CCNASWP is a remarkably diverse region combining fully mature economies such as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand with 10 small island states. The largest of these is Papua New Guinea (population over 7 million) and the smallest, the Cook Islands and Nauru with populations of around 10 000.
The regional coordinator is based within the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture.
Fiji looks forward to applying standards at the national level and supporting all countries in the region, especially the small island developing states, to establish a sound policy framework for food safety. These initiatives will support improvements in public health, ensure that imported food is safe and of the expected quality and develop increased access to international markets.
The regional coordinator will continue supporting work on regional standards and seeks to strengthen participation of the region in Codex in general. This can be achieved by continuing to develop capacity at the national level by enhancing the role of national coordinators and contact points for increased and effective participation in Codex
With new staff constantly rotating through the 189 Codex Contact Points (CCPs) around the globe, bringing a national Codex team’s skill set up to date is an essential part of a CCP’s duties if comments on Codex texts by national experts are to be submitted online and on time.
The Codex Secretariat recently delivered a webinar training on electronic working groups (EWGs) and the online commenting system (OCS), catching the Australian team early in the morning just as in Codex HQ [...]
The 15th session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and South West Pacific, is taking place in Port Vila, Vanuatu 16-20 September 2019. Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony, the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity, Moses Amos, speaking on behalf of the Minister, urged Codex to deal with the many modern-day challenges affecting food safety and trade in the region.
develop policies which best suit our situations
“Our region, comprising four of the [...]
The Codex North America and South West Pacific region (CCNASWP) brings together a rich mixture of countries. Developed countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States combine with ten countries from what are known as Small Island Developing States (SIDS), comprising The Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and the current Codex Regional Coordinator, Vanuatu.
Because of their geographic isolation or limited natural resources, SIDS often share a unique set of [...]
As Europe goes to bed and the Americas think about finishing work for the day, in Samoa it is already the first #WorldFoodSafetyDay.
As part of this celebration, FAO is highlighting its work in Samoa with partners in promoting food safety.
This week, FAO and the Samoa Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour are launching a Technical Cooperation Programme project. The objective of the project is to address the technical capacity challenges facing the Samoa National Codex Committee and relevant stakeholders. The [...]
Twenty representatives from Codex Contact Points (CCP) in the North America and Southwest Pacific region met in Port Vila, Vanuatu on 28-30 October 2018 for a workshop on the online systems that are an essential part of contributing to Codex standard-setting. Participants also came together to discuss regional input to the Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and to continue work on two regional Codex standards, for noni juice and kava, both local beverages.
The countries present were Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States [...]
How can we change but remain the same?
Dr Emilio Esteban is Executive Associate for Laboratory Services in the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, and chairs the Codex Committe on Food Hygiene currently meeting in Chicago USA.
As I sit today, living the 49th session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, I find myself amazed that after 50 plus years of discussion, the objective remains the same, yet, things have changed. On May 1964, nine members [...]
The 10th International Feed Regulators Meeting (IFRM) organized by IFIF in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) brought together a record number of feed industry representatives and government officials from 35 countries to discuss key issues including Feed Safety Risk Management Strategies and the role of animal nutrition and feeding to minimise antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The meeting was also informed on the activities of the FAO led Multi-stakeholder Partnership for Capacity Development for Feed [...]
Los Angeles USA - 48th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene
The Codex Secretariat is commited and dedicated to serving the Codex community
Chair Codex Alimentarius Commission
In the speech that she delivered at the Official Welcome Reception organised by the United States Codex Office on the occasion of the 48th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, the Codex Alimentarius Chairperson Mrs Awilo Ochieng Pernet paid tribute to members of the Codex Secretariat for their commitment and dedication to delivering [...]
The food hygiene committee CCFH has been meeting since 1964 and is responsible for drafting basic provisions on food hygiene applicable to all food.
People have the right to expect the food they eat to be safe and suitable for consumption. Foodborne illness and foodborne injury are at best unpleasant; at worst, they can be fatal.
Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene
Los Angeles - Q&A with Chair Dr Emilio Esteban
As the 48th session of the committee begins in Los Angeles, Dr Emilio Esteban, Executive [...]
The RCCs provide an incredibly important opportunity for dynamic discussion on major and emerging food safety and quality issues facing the region.
There are six Codex regions each represented by a joint FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC).They meet every two years. Each committee is responsible for defining the problems and needs of the region concerning food standards and food control. By working collectively at the regional level countries are able to highlight regulatory issues and problems arising from food control in [...]
