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JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD STANDARDS PROGRAMME

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS MARKS 50TH ANNIVERSARY (1963 - 2013)

The International Food Standards Body will hold its annual meeting to discuss food safety, consumer information and other food trade issues

Press conference with FAO & WHO Directors-General

 

 

WHAT:

The International food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its annual meeting on 1-5 July 2013 in Rome, Italy.

 

 

MAIN MEDIA EVENT:

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan will address the Commission and hold a joint press conference on 2 July.

 

 

WHEN: DGs address plenary at 9h30 and Press Conference at 13h00 CET, Tuesday 2 July 2013

 

 

WHERE: FAO Headquarters, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy. The press conference will be web cast at: http://www.fao.org/webcast/

 

 

About the 36th Session of the Codex Commission:

During the five-day meeting, participants will discuss the approval for dozens of commodity standards, including:

 

·        Fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (e.g. avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, table olives, date paste, and tempe);

·        Fish and fishery products (smoked fish, abalone);

 

The Commission will also consider hundreds of safe maximum limits for pesticide residues and veterinary drugs and provisions for food additives. Other issues up for discussion include:

·        Prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A (a cancer-causing contaminant) in cocoa and of hydrocyanic acid in cassava;

·        Revised maximum limits for lead in juices

·        Risk assessment guidance on hazards in animal feed;

·        Guidelines for National Food Control Systems

·        Guidance on use of claims for food “free of added salt” to ensure correct consumer information

 

 

About Codex:

Codex Alimentarius (Latin for "Food Code") is a collection of international food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice aiming at protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade. Currently, the Codex Alimentarius Commission has 185 member states, one member organization (EU), and 220 observers.

 

Since the first session in 1963, Codex has made a major contribution to ensure that the ever growing international food trade (currently worth US$ 1,356 billion) functions safely and fairly and make sure that consumers are well informed on ingredients and nutrition properties.

 

By offering harmonized standards, guidelines and codes of practice that are accepted as an international benchmark for food safety and quality, Codex lowers barriers to trade, drives freer movement of, and ensures a minimum standard in food products moving among countries. That benefits some of the 500 million small-scale farmers  in the developing world, as well as producers in industrialized countries and consumers worldwide.

 

However, many challenges remain. Although the overall burden of foodborne illness is not yet known, WHO estimates that foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases taken together kill about 2.2 million people annually, most of them children.

 

For more information:

Provisional meeting agenda:

http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/801/cac36_01e.pdf

Codex Alimentarius website: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/

FAO programme on food safety and quality: http://www.fao.org/food/food-safety-quality/home-page/en/

WHO programme on food safety: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/en

Twitter hashtag: #codex2013 

 

 

Media Contacts: 

FAO: Peter Lowrey
tel: (+39) 06 570 52762
mobile: (+39) 340 6992258
e-mail:
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WHO: Gregory Härtl

Coordinator, News, Social Media and Monitoring

Mobile: +41 79 203 6715,

E-mail: [log in to unmask]

 

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