New York, Nov. 28, 2023: The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the world global food standards body of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, on Monday marked its 60 years anniversary.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, as known officially as the consumer watchdog, began with just 30 countries but has now grown to 189 members, FAO chief QU Dongyu, said in a statement.
“Sixty years ago, the objective was to highlight the rapidly growing importance of internationally accepted food standards as a means of protecting consumer and producers globally and to effectively reduce trade barriers – these objectives are still very relevant today,” he said.
“More than ever, there continues to be an important emphasis on science and risk assessment as the basis for standards, as we look to science to prevent food from becoming unsafe and to reduce the risk of foodborne illness,” he added.
The body brings together the world’s top scientists to crunch the key data and discuss specific microbiological or chemical hazards.
“Their deliberations concentrate on the protection of the most vulnerable, such as children and pregnant women, and take into consideration local and regional differences in food consumption,” Qu explained,
According to him, due to the longer and more complex food chain of today, prevention and control systems for food safety, like Codex, have become increasingly important and significant.
The Codex also defines the quality of food by providing guidance on hygiene, labeling, nutrition, and the measurement and sampling techniques that attest to its safety.
The 46th session of its ruling body will discuss adopting a range of new texts and guidelines in line with its objectives of ensuring the production and trade of safe food.
The standards assess scientific findings and potential risks, all while prioritising food safety and decreasing the likelihood of food-borne illness.
The scientific foundation for these standards is provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and FAO.
The recommendations are voluntary for Member States but provide a structure for national health laws, which help ensure consumers are increasingly protected from unsafe or low-quality food purchases, and importers have greater confidence that they will receive conforming shipments of goods.
