USDA announced a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 3rd Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance, which will be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, Oct. 12 - 16, 2009. The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Room 107-A, USDA, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, 1200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250. More information is available here. Documents and agenda items related to the 3rd Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on antimicrobial resistance will be accessible here.
Public Meeting To Address Agenda Items For the 3rd Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance
Can the multilateral institutions encourage unbiased outcomes?
Lee Ann Jackson and Marion Jansen have written, “Risk assessment in the international food safety policy arena: Can the multilateral institutions encourage unbiased outcomes?” (Jan. 2009). The working paper describes how food safety related scientific evidence is generated and how it is used in the context of risk assessment for international standard-setting at Codex and in WTO trade disputes. The authors also discuss the processes leading to policy conclusions on the basis of scientific evidence. They discuss the interactions between private and public sector actors and between "scientific experts" and others. Finally, they provide suggestions on improving the interactions and the transparency of the process.
Public Meeting To Address Agenda Items For The 15th Session Of The Codex Committee On Fresh Fruits And Vegetables
The USDA today announced a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 15th Session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The public meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, from 10 a.m. to noon, Room 2068, USDA South Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250.
Documents and agenda items related to the 15th Session of the CCFFV, which is hosted by Mexico and will be held Oct. 19-23, 2009, in Mexico City, Mexico, will be accessible here. Interested parties may submit written comments at the public meeting, or by e-mail to Dorian LaFond, International Standards Coordinator, AMS, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, at Dorian.Lafond@usda.gov. For further information about the public meeting, contact Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, by e-mail at Doreen.Chen-Moulec@fsis.usda.gov or by phone at (202) 205-7760 or fax at (202) 720-3157.
New Master Degree in Food, Society, and International Food Governance
The Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University announced a collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia on a new Master's degree in Food, Society, and International Food Governance. The program is designed for individuals interested in enhancing their understanding and analysis of agriculture and food policy, and increasing their understanding of the social, cultural and economic factors that influence and shape the development and enforcement of agriculture governance. This combination presents an opportunity to explore connections between the historical, political, scientific, strategic, and ethical considerations involved in the organization of food policy and agriculture internationally. The program trains students to identify and generate solutions for just and sustainable food systems.
In an agreement to be finalized, the UOC will recognize any two (2) of the MSU IFLR courses listed below (6 credits total) as equivalent to 15 ECTS (UOC credits). Thus, UOC would accept these credits as one fourth of the UOC Masters in Food, Society and International Food Governance. Students have the option of either enrolling in these courses through MSU's Lifelong Education Program first and applying the credits towards the UOC Master Degree, or students may enroll in the UOC program first.
The UOC would recognize the IFLR courses as follows:
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Courses may also be taken both for the Master degree and to satisfy the requirements for a Certificate from Michigan State University in International Food Law. Successful completion of four international food law courses required for the MSU certificate. Certificate holders may apply past MSU credits towards the new master's degree.
More information on the International Food Law Certificate Program is available here.
The Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University announced a collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia on a new Master's degree in Food, Society, and International Food Governance. The program is designed for individuals interested in enhancing their understanding and analysis of agriculture and food policy, and increasing their understanding of the social, cultural and economic factors that influence and shape the development and enforcement of agriculture governance. This combination presents an opportunity to explore connections between the historical, political, scientific, strategic, and ethical considerations involved in the organization of food policy and agriculture internationally. The program trains students to identify and generate solutions for just and sustainable food systems.
In an agreement to be finalized, the UOC will recognize any two (2) of the MSU IFLR courses listed below (6 credits total) as equivalent to 15 ECTS (UOC credits). Thus, UOC would accept these credits as one fourth of the UOC Masters in Food, Society and International Food Governance.
The UOC would recognize the IFLR courses as follows:
Courses may also be taken both for the Master degree and to satisfy the requirements for a Certificate from Michigan State University in International Food Law. Successful completion of four international food law courses required for the MSU certificate. Certificate holders may apply past MSU credits towards the new master's degree.
More information on the International Food Law Certificate Program is available here.
US Public Meeting on Codex Agenda Items
The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture is sponsoring a public meeting June 8 to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 32nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, to be held in Rome, Italy, June 29-July 4, 2009.
Slow International Progress Toward Harmonized Audits
EAS e News (June 2009) reports on the recent Food Safety Summit technical sessions on third-party audits and the slow process of harmonizing international audits. Because there is an overlap between the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission's general principles of food hygiene, GFSI's proponents hope to use the overlap to gain easier international acceptance of GFSI's criteria.
“According to Mark Overland, corporate certification manager for Cargill, who moderated the sessions, general acceptance of the GFSI in the United States would require three key elements: a public audit standard instead of the numerous proprietary standards that exist; accreditation of audit bodies to the international standard; and auditors that are qualified to the international standard. . . . Codex Chair Karen Hulebak expressed concern about any moves to expand the international use of proprietary standards for third-party auditing. . . .”
The whole article is available here.
JECFA 2008 "blue book" on food additives
The Technical Report from JECFA's June 2008 meeting on various food additives has now been published and runs to 222 pages. Amongst the chemicals covered at this meeting were phytosterols, phytostanols and their esters, steviol glycosides and polydimethylsiloxane. A number of flavouring agents were also evaluated and revisions made to the specifications for several additives. WHO Technical Report Series 952.
Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food
From the IFT Newsletter April 22, 2009:
The Third Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) was held on March 23–27, 2009, at Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Four documents from the Committee will go forward to the Commission at Step 8 including:
· General Standards for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods; Code of Practice (COP) for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food;
· COP for Reduction of Food Contamination with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Smoking and Direct Drying Processes; and
· COP for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A Contamination in Coffee.
Other contaminants discussed were total aflatoxins in Brazil nuts, fumonisins in corn and its products, benzene in soft drinks, cyanogenic glycosides, mycotoxins in sorghum, and ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages. Three substances (deoxynivalenol, furan, and perchlorate) from the Priority List of Contaminants and Naturally Occurring Toxicants were proposed for evaluation by the 72nd meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives in February 2010. Proposed new work for this committee includes revision of the COP for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxins in Tree Nuts and establishing maximum levels of non-intentional melamine in food and feed and fumonisins in corn and corn products.
For further details please refer to the full reports available here.
Codex Committee on Food Additives
From the IFT Newsletter April 22, 2009
The 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) was held in Shanghai, China on March 16–20, 2009. The committee was very productive with several documents moving forward for adoption by the 32nd Codex Alimentarius Commission including: food additive provisions for the General Standards for Food Additives (GSFA); amendments to the International Numbering System; and specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives arising from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) 68th meeting (i.e., 20 additives including carob bean and guar gum, phytosterols and steviol glycosides, and 105 flavorings). Several substances such as pullulan and flavorings (315 of them) were proposed for evaluation by JECFA. CCFA discontinued work on several provisions for a number of food additives such as acesulfame potassium, alitame annatto extracts, lycopenes, carotenoids, etc. (see report for full list) due to lack of technological justification for use. Category 16 (Composite Foods) of the GSFA was maintained for the time-being on the basis that products in the category may need additives. However, product examples and technological justification are needed for the category to stay on.
For further details please refer to the full reports available on the Codex website here.
USDA Public Meeting to Discuss CCRVDF Agenda
The USDA will hold a public meeting to address agenda Items for the 18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF). The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Room 107-A, Jamie Whitten Federal Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. Attendees must pre-register and present photo identification at the door. To pre-register, please send your name, organization, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address to Jasmine Matthews by e-mail touscodex@fsis.usda.gov, by phone at (202) 690-1124 or by fax at (202) 720-3157. More information is available here.
Documents and agenda items related to the 18th Session of CCRVDF will be available on the Codex Alimentarius Web site at www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp. The 18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), to be held in Natal, Brazil, May 11-15, 2009.
Codex Committee on Food Additives Report Available
The report of the Codex Committee on Food Additives session 41, Alinorm 099/32/12, is now available here.
The Report of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils
The report of the Codex Committee on on Fats and Oils session 21, Alinorm 09/32/17, is now available here.
Forthcoming Events
| 5th Session Codex Regional Committee in Near East, |
The provisional agenda and working documents for this and all other upcoming Codex meetings are available at: www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp
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Codex Committee on Fats and Oils 21st Session,
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 16-20 February 2009 |
The provisional agenda and working documents for this and all other upcoming Codex meetings are available from the following meetings page: www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp
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| Pre-Codex workshop on Risk Analysis applied to Mycotoxins , Accra, Ghana, 23 February 2009 |
FAO will organize a one-day pre-Codex workshop on Risk analysis applied to mycotoxins on 23 February 2009 in Accra, Ghana.
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| FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa 18th Session, Accra, Ghana, 24-27 February 2009 |
The provisional agenda and working documents for this and all other upcoming Codex meetings are available from the following meetings page: www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp
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FAO Subregional Workshop on Food Safety Risk Analysis: A Guide for National Food Safety Authorities in Southern Africa, Botswana, February 2009
FAO is planning to hold a 4-day regional training workshop in Botswana in February 2009 to train approximately 20 experts from countries in Southern Africa (Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana) about the principles and components of food safety risk analysis along with the regional case studies and to equip them with the skills necessary apply the framework in their own countries. For further details please contact food-quality@fao.org.
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| Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Potential Food Safety Implications |
Given the increased global interest in the use of nanotechnology and concerns on the potential food safety implications, FAO and WHO have recognized a need for scientific advice on any food safety implications that may arise from the use of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors. Therefore a joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Potential Food Safety Implications will be held from 1 to 5 June 2009 at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The scope and objectives, together with call for experts and information are available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/index_en.asp Deadline for application: 15 January 2009
Summary report of the 70th JECFA meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, 21-29 June 2008
The 70th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee for Food Additives (JECFA) took place at WHO headquarters, Geneva, from 21 to 29 October 2008. The Committee meeting was devoted to the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs. The summary report of the 70th JECFA meeting has now been posted on the FAO JECFA website under: What's new at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/jecfa_new_en.asp The direct link to the document is: http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/agns/files/jecfa70_final.pdf.
Former WHO official urges takeover of Codex
As reported in Food Chemical News by Stephen Clapp (steve.clapp@informa.com):
Gerald Moy, a newly retired UN World Health Organization official who says he’s now free to speak his mind, last week urged a takeover of the Codex Alimentarius by WHO as part of an effort to strengthen global food protection.
“The world needs an international food safety agency,” Moy told the annual winter meeting in Washington, D.C., of the Toxicology Forum, an organization of high-level scientists. “By and large, food standards work in Codex is finished, but the food safety work is ongoing.”
Comparing the proposed new international agency to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Moy said it could be easily established under WHO rules with its own governing council and budget. The agency would exercise farm-to-fork oversight and hire a staff capable of multidisciplinary risk assessment. He said the new agency would provide risk assessment advice to individual governments and Codex, and would review risk assessment methodologies.
Established in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental food standard-setting body with more than 170 member countries; it is jointly sponsored by WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Moy said the proposed international food safety agency would take over the Codex secretariat, which is currently housed at FAO headquarters in Rome, and would liaise with FAO, WHO and other international bodies.
A questioner noted that Codex members complain about inadequate contributions from WHO to the Codex budget, which is mainly funded by FAO. “FAO is highly inefficient,” Moy responded. “WHO would do a much better job.
“The real future of Codex is in the health-oriented committees,” he continued, adding, “WHO is much more efficient. For example, we’d like to outsource translations. We’re ready to take over the health and safety aspects of Codex and provide a counterpart to organizations in other countries [such as EFSA].”
In opening remarks, Moy described the global food safety arena as “fragmented,” with WHO and FAO as the biggest players. “FAO has no health mandate and declining resources,” he said. “That leaves WHO.”
He acknowledged that WHO has a problem with food safety, because the agency mainly focuses on major diseases such as AIDS. “It’s hard to make food safety a priority,” he said, joking that WHO officials “don’t put people in jail” for food safety violations. However, the agency’s strengths include a mandate for standard-setting and a high degree of decentralization, he added.
Public Meeting for US stakeholders interested in the Codex Committee on Food Additives
The public meeting for the US Delegation to the Codex Committee on Food Additives will be held on February 10 from 1 until 4 PM at the Wiley Building (5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD). A Federal Register Notice announcing details of how to register for this meeting should publish soon.
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