The long awaited “Codex Electronic Working Groups Handbook” has been published to coincide with the 47th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC47) taking place from 25 to 30 November 2024 in Geneva. Electronic working groups (EWGs) have become a widely used tool for advancing work between meetings of Codex Committees. The new handbook offers clear, practical guidance with tips and advice for establishing, managing, participating in, and reporting on EWGs, and it is designed for participants who are enhancing their engagement in Codex [...]

The CODEX magazine for 2024 has been published, as the 47th Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting gets under way in Geneva, Switzerland. Titled “Looking to the Future”, the magazine touches on some of the questions that may need to be asked within Codex to ensure the standards setting body continues to serve all consumers, producers and food business operators worldwide in a context of rapidly evolving food, food production systems and technologies. With articles from Codex’s parent organizations, FAO and WHO, from [...]

Allan Azegele, Director of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya, has been elected by general consensus to serve as the 21th Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). “I am deeply honored and humbled to accept this role and I am committed to serving Codex with inclusivity and transparency” said Azegele reacting to his success. Acknowledging the achievements of the team he has been part of with his fellow Vice-Chairpersons Raj Rajasekar and Diego Varela, and Steve [...]

The 47th meeting of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has opened in Geneva, Switzerland, ahead of a historic session that will see final discussions on Codex’s new strategic plan for the period 2026–2031 as well as elections for a new Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, . In addition to this will be the work of discussing and adopting new Codex texts and a number of new work proposals. Opening remarks were given by the Directors-General of both of Codex’s parent organizations. Tedros [...]

The Codex Alimentarius Commission will meet for the 47th time next week, 24–30 November. With some highly anticipated new texts for adoption, the week will also see the election of a new chairperson and three new vice-chairpersons of the Commission, as the tenure of Steve Wearne, the current Chairperson and Allan Azegele, Raj Rajasekar and Diego Varela, the three current vice-chairpersons, comes to an end. The landmark texts up for adoption include work on guidelines for food hygiene control measures in [...]

María de los Angeles Gatica is the regional coordinator for the Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT) project, which helps countries contain foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR). She is one of the youngest project leaders across FAO. We spoke to her about her role and about what has motivated her to help the ACT project to its impressive successes so far. Can you tell us about your personal background? I grew up in a rural community on the outskirts of [...]

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 [...]

The FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT) project is being carried out in six countries, of which one is the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Here, the Project has made great progress in helping the national authorities improve governance of the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and has supported training to improve surveillance and monitoring of foodborne AMR. Carolina Tejerina is a protagonist in these activities, and we spoke with her to find out [...]

The 87th session of the Codex Alimentarius Executive Committee (CCEXEC87) has started at the International Conference Center Geneva to discuss issues outstanding before the meeting of the 47th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC47).  The meeting was opened by Francesco Branca, Director of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO, who noted that “Codex is a unique platform for driving real change in global food systems. A platform for science-based discussions that lead to immediate regulatory actions and real transformation”. He continued his intervention, by stressing [...]

From 6 to 9 November 2024, over 40 delegates from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam attended the CCASIA Codex “Workshop on Food Control Systems and Risk Assessment” held in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. In addition, representatives from Afghanistan, India and the Maldives participated online. China, as the Coordinator of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia, organized this programme. The programme aimed to address the regional Members' needs for optimizing food [...]