COVID-19 / Three additional Codex meetings cancelled

The Codex Secretariat, in agreement with the respective host secretariats of the Codex Committees on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF), Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS), and Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) has announced that the sessions are cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

“Given the increasing gravity of the situation we needed to provide certainty to those preparing to organise and participate in these sessions. We discussed with each host secretariat to find out their national situation and I would like to thank all of them for their cooperation in this process which is painful because a lot of work and money has already gone into the preparation of the sessions”, said Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary.

Each committee would normally expect to bring work and standards to the July Commission for discussion and adoption. “To minimize delays we will be liaising with chairpersons of electronic working groups and taking all advice necessary to explore the possibility of working by correspondence to bring some of the work in the committees for consideration by CAC43 in July 2020 - or at least to allow those groups to keep working ahead of their rescheduled sessions”, said Heilandt.

A decision regarding the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) which is scheduled to meet a little later than the other committees will be taken following further consultation with the host secretariat, the United States, in the coming weeks and at least one month before the scheduled session in May, Heilandt confirmed.

An announcement regarding the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), which has already been postponed once, will be made following further consultation with the host secretariat of CCFA, China. The status of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (6-11 July 2020) will be discussed in the coming weeks with FAO and WHO.

Guilherme Da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, said: “I deeply regret that we will not be able to run all our meetings according to our original calendar, but these are exceptional circumstances and we feel the action taken was the only safe and sensible course to follow. I would like to thank all our host governments for their cooperation and proactive approach in taking these difficult decisions and their continued support to Codex.”

Further updates on Codex meeting schedules will be published as they become available.

For details on COVID-19 visit the WHO website