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C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S. CODEX ALIMENTARIUS INTERNATIONAL FOOD STANDARDS Tom Heilandt , Codex Secretariat . C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S. Food safety is a shared responsibility .
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C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S CODEX ALIMENTARIUSINTERNATIONAL FOOD STANDARDSTom Heilandt, Codex Secretariat
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S Food safety is a shared responsibility • Governments establish food safety policies, food safety regulations and standards and control systems to assure that national food safety goals are met. • All operators in the food chain have direct responsibility for ensuring the safety of food. • Consumers play a role beyond safe handling of food: their choices and concerns influence decisions of government and the food industry.
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S Food safety and quality in international trade • WTO SPS and TBT Agreements. • SPS agreementspecifically refers to Codex standards: • reference for food safety in international trade • calls for harmonisation of national standards with Codex as an important strategy for facilitating trade. • stricterstandards as compared with the corresponding Codex standard must be justified on the basis of science.
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S 185 members Since 1963 FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission 204 observers
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S • To protect the health of consumers • To ensure fair practices in the food trade • To promote coordination of all food standards work of IGOs and NGOs, and • to develop the Codex Alimentarius
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S A RESULT A FORUM Standards, guidelines and codes of practice Structure and processforgovernments and organizationstofindsolutions and toharmonize rules
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S • Voluntary • Reference in the WTO SPS agreement • 100% Memberdriven • Inclusive and transparent • Basedonscience • Byconsensus (usually)
Codex Alimentarius Commission Secretariat Executive Committee Ad-hoc intergovernmental task forces Vertical/commodity Committees Horizontal/ general Committees General Principles (France) Food Labelling (Canada) active active Fish and Fishery Products (Norway) Processed Fruits and Vegetables (United States) Animal Feeding (Switzerland) Residuos de Medicamentos Veterinarios en los Alimentos (Estados Unidos) Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (United States) Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (Australia) Fats and Oils (Malaysia) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Mexico) dissolved Foods derived from Biotechnology (Japan) Fruit Juices (Brazil) Sugars (Colombia) Pesticide Residues (China) Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods (Thailand) Aditivos Alimentarios (China) Food Additives (China) Residuos de Plaguicidas (China) Antimicrobial Resistance (Republic of Korea) adjourned sine die Food Hygiene (United States) Higiene de los Alimentos (Estados Unidos) Contaminantes de los Alimentos (Países Bajos) Contaminants in Foods (Netherlands) Cereals, Pulses and Legumes (United States) Meat hygiene (New Zealand) Natural Mineral Waters (Switzerland) Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Hungary) Vegetable Proteins (Canada) Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Germany) Milk and Milk Products (New Zealand) Cocoa Products and Chocolate (Switzerland) FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees North America and South West Pacific (Papua New Guinnee) Africa (Cameroon) Near East (Lebanon) Asia (Japan) Latin America and the Caribbean (Costa Rica) Europe (Poland)
Needs assessment, development of a project Commission (adoption) Committee Committee or Task Force – existing or new Discussion paper Executive Committee (critical review) Decision Drafting, consultation, discussion, redrafting Project document S 1 Proposed draft standard S2 drafting S3 consultation S4 discussion/ drafting Decision Endorsement by general committees S 5/5A Consultation, discussion, redrafting, endorsement consultation Draft standard S6 consultation S7 discussion/ drafting consultation Decision S 8 Hold at Step 8 consultation Codex standard
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S ISSUES • Speed of standard development • Remaining inclusive and transparent • Finding consensus in a heterogeneous membership • Participation of developing countries • Private standards
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S Codex Achievements:hundreds of commodity standardsthousands of maximum residue limits (pesticides, veterinary drugs)thousands of food additive provisionsguidance to prevent or reduce contaminationrisk analysis e.g. GM foodsHACCP…
C O D E X A L I M E N T A R I U S “We have a wealth of experience, but we don't have all the answers. We must look around us for fresh ideas. If we only look inwards, we will be a stagnant organization.”(FAO DG Graziano da Silva in his first address to FAO staff)