Today Codex Members were invited to endorse the first virtual session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of all physical meetings of Codex Committees for this year and the Codex Secretariat together with the Chairperson and Vice-chairpersons of the Commission, Committee chairpersons and host countries have worked actively to find ways to ensure work continuity. With the support of the Codex Members, electronic working groups of subsidiary bodies are continuing their work and a [...]

“Not only was this session the first full Codex committee meeting held by correspondence, it also took place during the very challenging and unexpected COVID-19 pandemic.” reflected Richard Boyd, Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV) as he concluded the 29th Session of the CCPFV on July 29th 2020.  Having worked by correspondence from January to July 2020, the Committee proposed five standards for adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. These include standards for dried fruits, [...]

Delegations from 85 Codex Members and 40 Observers met up virtually on 28th July 2020 in what may come to be seen as a trial run for the 43rd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission planned for September 2020. Following on from the successful Executive Committee virtual meeting, the Codex community is now beginning to understand what will be needed, how to prepare and what to expect from a virtual Commission. “The COVID-19 pandemic unquestionably presents an era-defining challenge to public [...]

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to our way of living, interacting and working. The way we have worked internationally to date has been turned on its head. With the cancellation of almost all physical Codex meetings for 2020, it is now essential to look to new ways of continuing the work. The 79th session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission successfully met virtually between 13 and 20th July 202. In the current context, if [...]

The 79th session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC79) has recommended that key Codex texts on food hygiene and the management of food allergens, together with a series of regional and worldwide commodity standards – from kava to chilli sauce, kiwifruit, garlic and yam – be sent for adoption at the next Commission session: CAC43. This session will go ahead virtually starting late September if Codex members give their consent to the modalities currently under development [...]

Bajo el nombre “Importancia de los métodos oficiales del Codex Alimentarius y su uso a nivel nacional e internacional”, se realizó ayer el seminario organizado por la Agencia Chilena para Calidad e Inocuidad Alimentaria (ACHIPIA), el Instituto Interamericano  de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA), el Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP), el Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) y la empresa Granotec. El objetivo de la actividad consistió en demostrar la importancia  de los métodos oficializados y utilizados por el Codex Alimentarius [...]

To celebrate World Food Safety Day (WFSD) in 2020, the Sichuan Agricultural University made a video combining their education and research on food safety with the WFSD theme, introducing the importance of basic education on food safety. The knowledge would be leveraged to promote greater awareness of food safety among more people. The university students also published a video on WeChat to reach an even wider audience, and help spread the news about WSFD and raise public awareness of food safety. [...]

A webinar held on 14 July 2020 entitled ‘Joint Action on COVID-19: Boosting our Global Response’, presented the seven main intervention areas that FAO has developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis with a clear message that business as usual is not a possibility. If we carry on as usual we will see major loss of life. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told participants that with 4.5 billion people dependent on food systems for their jobs and livelihoods it was time for FAO [...]

In an historic moment for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Executive Committee (CCEXEC) began its 79th meeting online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Spread over seven days (13-20 July 2020) and four online sessions, the committee will examine standards for adoption and proposals for new work from those committees that were able to meet before travel became impossible in March this year and all subsequent Codex meetings were cancelled. The recommendations of the CCEXEC will go forward for consideration [...]

The Ministry of Public Health of Qatar organized a series of initiatives in celebration of World Food Safety Day that made news headlines in June 2020. During a webinar a draft Arab food safety policy was presented. The Arab Food Safety Team of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States had tasked Qatar with preparing the initial draft, which is ‘to provide the technical basis for joint coordination and standardization of procedures among the competent authorities in the [...]