The Codex Alimentarius Commission convened its 27th session today, one year ahead of schedule, amid calls for the Commission to implement recommendations made by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation.
Codex is an international food standards-setting body established by FAO and WHO.
The Commission, which traditionally met once every two years, will now meet yearly in response to the joint evaluation, which called on Codex to speed up its work and adapt to the ever-increasing demands of member countries.
In 2003, the World Health Assembly called on Codex to become more effective at managing health risks in food. And now, as food safety issues are increasingly seen in a context that runs from the farm to the consumer’s table, FAO and WHO have urged the Codex Commission to seek additional ways to address risks throughout the food chain. In response, the Codex Commission is set to approve a Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding that would establish a feed safety system for food producing animals. It would take into account relevant aspects of animal health and the environment in order to minimize risks to the health of consumers.
The Codex Commission is also expected to formally approve work to revise the 23-year-old Recommended International Code of Practice for Foods for Infants and Children. The revision will particularly take into account issues related to contamination by Enterobacter sakazakii in infant formula.
The Commission will also consider re-establishing the ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology. The aim is to keep up with the fast-changing applications of gene technologies and the increasing interest of consumers in the potential health impact of genetically modified foods.
Setting international food standards requires the participation by all countries, including developing ones. Since March 2004, the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund has supported the participation of nine countries in Codex technical committee meetings and more than 30 countries have been funded to attend the present session of the Codex Commission.