Codex standards critical in rapidly changing food environment

The Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC) brings together strategists and technical experts from Codex Member Countries who are meeting this week at World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kazuaki Miyagishima, Director of the Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses in WHO, speaking on behalf of Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director-General, Head of the newly created Universal Health Coverage/Healthier Populations Division, welcoming delegates, said “Codex standards and guidelines have critical roles to play in ensuring people have healthy diets and consume safe foods, in particular in this rapidly changing food environment”. Miyagishima reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting Codex and ultimately to provide safe and nutritious food to the most vulnerable populations.

Markus Lipp, Head of the Food Safety and Quality Division, FAO, emphasized the importance of the Codex Alimentarius Commission as “the key normative organization for FAO to support its main mission: zero hunger, the right to food for all humans”. Codex Alimentarius working successfully, “is critical to human development in general and critical to the mission and the work of FAO in particular”, he said, encouraging delegates to work together to seek compromise in order to find solutions during their discussions.

The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Guilherme da Costa, Brazil, said CCEXEC has a key role as the executive arm of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. “It should focus on mutual cooperation, strengthening participation in Codex, consensus-building, and especially on the interests of the world as food safety and fair practices in food trade are concerned”, he said.

The CCEXEC has a membership of 17 which includes three Vice Chairs, six Regional Coordinators and seven other Members elected on a geographical basis. Some of the matters under consideration include the on-going critical review of standards to ensure that proposals for new work and draft standards submitted for adoption continue to meet the strategic priorities of the Commission.

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Working papers available on the CCEXEC77 meeting page