Forthcoming Events

5th Session Codex Regional Committee in Near East, Tunis, Tunisia, 26-29 January 2009.

The provisional agenda and working documents for this and all other upcoming Codex meetings are available at: www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp

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

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.

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

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.

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Potential Food Safety Implications Rome, Italy, 1-5 June 2009

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.