GFFA Expert Panel / Is the Codex system fit for the future?
A Codex expert panel discussion “Is the Codex system fit for the future?” took place on Friday 20 January 2023 at the annual Global Forum for Food and Agriculture organized, in Berlin, Germany, by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General FAO, described Codex as “a public good to serve countries in defending their standards, in protecting consumers and ensuring also fair trade.” Speaking also of the need to respond to interconnected challenges in agriculture, the environment, human and animal health, she said: “We need to have a more flexible and more agile and also more ambitious Codex, maybe in the vision, in ambition, in the sense of having more new challenges integrated into Codex decisions.”
The panel discussed the role of science in Codex, whether its current governance and mandate were fit for purpose and also whether Codex was setting too many, too few and the right kinds of food safety standards as it embarks on its next 60 years.
Learn more
Photo credit ©FBMEL
Pictured (Left to right): Tom Heilandt, Kazuaki Miyagishima, Christiane Wolff, Michel Leporati, Maria Helena Semedo, Jenny Reid.
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
GFFA Expert Panel / Is the Codex system fit for the future?
A Codex expert panel discussion “Is the Codex system fit for the future?” took place on Friday 20 January 2023 at the annual Global Forum for Food and Agriculture organized, in Berlin, Germany, by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).
Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General FAO, described Codex as “a public good to serve countries in defending their standards, in protecting consumers and ensuring also fair trade.” Speaking also of the need to respond to interconnected challenges in agriculture, the environment, human and animal health, she said: “We need to have a more flexible and more agile and also more ambitious Codex, maybe in the vision, in ambition, in the sense of having more new challenges integrated into Codex decisions.”
The panel discussed the role of science in Codex, whether its current governance and mandate were fit for purpose and also whether Codex was setting too many, too few and the right kinds of food safety standards as it embarks on its next 60 years.
Learn more
Photo credit ©FBMEL
Pictured (Left to right): Tom Heilandt, Kazuaki Miyagishima, Christiane Wolff, Michel Leporati, Maria Helena Semedo, Jenny Reid.
Codex and Observer
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