Closer cooperation with ISO on methods of analysis and sampling
On March 14th in Geneva, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt met with Mr Zhang Xiaogang, President of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization which has Observer status in Codex Alimentarius. ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality, just as Codex Standards ensure food is safe, protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade.
Also present were Mr Zhu Jianwei, Senior Engineer Ansteel and Assistant to Mr Zhang and Mr Kevin Mckinley, Acting Secretary General ISO.
Topics discussed included closer cooperation on methods of analysis and sampling and especially more ISO input and participation to Codex work in this area as well as other Codex committees.
It was agreed that ISO will examine the possibility of Codex staff members participating in ISO trainings to learn more about the practices used by ISO in consensus building, remote meetings and speeding up the standard setting process.
Tom Heilandt said “ISO and Codex complement each other naturally, uniting science based standards with pratical know-how for implementation and enforceability".
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At the heart of the Codex mandate are the core values of collaboration, inclusiveness, consensus building and transparency. Governmental and non-governmental, public and private organizations alike play a vital role in ensuring Codex texts are of the highest quality and based on sound science.
Codex would have little authority in the field of international standard setting if it did not welcome and acknowledge the valuable contributions made by observers. Expert technical bodies, industry and consumer associations
contribute to the standard-setting process in a spirit of openness, collaboration and transparency.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can apply for observer status in Codex in order to attend and put forward their views at every stage of the standard-setting process.
Current Codex Alimentarius Commission
Closer cooperation with ISO on methods of analysis and sampling
On March 14th in Geneva, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt met with Mr Zhang Xiaogang, President of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization which has Observer status in Codex Alimentarius. ISO International Standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality, just as Codex Standards ensure food is safe, protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade.
Also present were Mr Zhu Jianwei, Senior Engineer Ansteel and Assistant to Mr Zhang and Mr Kevin Mckinley, Acting Secretary General ISO.
Topics discussed included closer cooperation on methods of analysis and sampling and especially more ISO input and participation to Codex work in this area as well as other Codex committees.
It was agreed that ISO will examine the possibility of Codex staff members participating in ISO trainings to learn more about the practices used by ISO in consensus building, remote meetings and speeding up the standard setting process.
Tom Heilandt said “ISO and Codex complement each other naturally, uniting science based standards with pratical know-how for implementation and enforceability".
Links
Codex and Observer
around the world since ancient times.
We might not always know where it comes from,
but we expect it to be available, safe and of good quality.
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