The Coordinating Committee for the Latin America and Caribbean region has concluded its 23rd session with the adoption of its report and agreement on a number of key points. Opening the final session, Chairperson Rommel Betancourt thanked participants and organizers of the side events organized for Thursday, and also thanked the Codex and CCLAC secretariats and interpreters. Upon adoption of the report and with his last act as Regional Coordinator, Betancourt declared, “We’re going to miss you all!! A big [...]

Cairo, Egypt - The Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, led by Dr Khaled Saufy, convened the Third Egyptian Food Standards Codex Committee meeting this year. The gathering coincided with the global observance of World Food Safety Day, which was celebrated under the theme "Food safety: prepare for the unexpected". The meeting was also attended by Mr Khalid Al-Zahrani, the Regional Coordinator for the Near East Countries under the Codex Alimentarius. Mr Al-Zahrani has been taking the floor to illustrate the [...]

The 23rd session of the Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) has opened in a virtual session hosted by the Regional Coordinator, Ecuador. Opening remarks were offered by guests Patricio Almeida, executive director of Ecuador’s Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad), Gherda Barreto, FAO representative in Ecuador and Sonia Quezada, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) representative in Ecuador. Almeida highlighted the importance Ecuador attaches to its role as Regional Coordinator, listing the ways in which [...]

In Nepal, World Food Safety Day activities were organized as part of the Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT) project. As part of the project’s aims to increase awareness about the dangers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) the World Food Safety Day activities included raising the awareness of the general public and also of a number of college students. These activities supported the national celebrations led by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) throughout the week [...]

In the month of June the Ministry of Health of Peru (MINSA), through the General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety (DIGESA) in conjunction with the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, through the National Agrarian Health Service of Peru (SENASA), and the Ministry of Production, through the National Fisheries Health Organization (SANIPES), organized an “Educational day for World Food Safety Day in Peru”. The event took place via the Zoom Platform and was aimed at a general population. Likewise, [...]

The 23rd session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC23) will take place virtually, 22-26 July 2024. As Members and Observers prepare for the meeting, we sat down with Rommel Betancourt, Chairperson of CCLAC23, to talk about the agenda, his experience in leading Codex work in the region over the last four years, and much more. In this interview, Rommel also shares some memories recalling his first thoughts and feelings related to his new role [...]

This year, the Food Safety and Quality Center (FSQC) in the Sultanate of Oman celebrated World Food Safety Day and also organized a “Food Safety Week 2024” under the theme of “Food Risk Assessment: Partnership - Awareness - Commitment” in the period from 28 April to 4 May. This annual World Food Safety Day event aims to raise awareness and increase knowledge among society regarding food safety and quality and public health protection, in addition to building and upgrading capacities and [...]

The Ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meets this week, to review progress on a cluster of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was one of the entities invited by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to submit information for this review, in an indication of the impact Codex work has at a global level. The request for information underlines the significance of Codex work to the Sustainable Development Agenda [...]

Food Safety Matters, a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by Food Safety Magazine, hosted an episode on improving food safety in traditional markets on 25 June, 2024. The podcast guests, Caroline Smith DeWaal, Senior Manager at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and Richard Pluke,the Food Safety Lead and Chief of Party for GAIN's EatSafe programme described the work to improve food safety in traditional markets, while also striving to encourage healthier diets and sustainable food systems. The [...]

The United States of America Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Kitchen Sink: A Food Loss and Waste Podcast celebrated World Food Safety Day this year with a special episode on food safety. The host and producer, Nika Larian, USAID Senior Nutrition Advisor for Food Safety, was joined by three experts, Richard Pluke, the Food Safety Lead and Chief of Party for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) EatSafe project; Roberta Lauretti-Bernhard, Vice President for Programs at Food Enterprise Solutions and [...]