An online symposium, "Understanding the Codex Alimentarius Commission – Transition of Food Safety Standards Administration," was held on November 19, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan, to increase public knowledge of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's work.

The event began with a keynote video message from Codex Secretary, Dr. Sarah Cahill. Dr. Junya Yafune, Director of the International Food Safety Office at the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA), then spoke about Japan's food safety standards and their alignment with international standards. Researchers from the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS)—Dr. Miou Toda, Dr. Takatoshi Sakai, Dr. Takahiro Watanabe, and Dr. Atsutaka Kubosaki—presented on the Codex Alimentarius Commission's general subject committees: CCCF, CCRVDF, CCPR, and CCFA. A panel, moderated by Professor Makiko Matsuo of the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo, discussed preparing for and addressing emerging food safety challenges. Panelists included Ms. Maki Morita of Food Communication Compass, Dr. Yafune, and the NIHS researchers. Around 400 participants joined online.

The online symposium was hosted by the CAA research group funded by the Food Safety Standards Policy Research Grants, and co-hosted by CAA, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Food Safety Commission (FSC), and IFI, the University of Tokyo.

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シンポジウム「コーデックス委員会を理解する－食品衛生基準行政の移管を機に」(Japanese) https://ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/event/18885/

Photo © CAA Japan