[cid:image002.gif@01CD52ED.F50C1930] 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: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> WHO: Gregory Härtl Coordinator, News, Social Media and Monitoring Mobile: +41 79 203 6715, E-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Tools for journalists & editors Photo requests: (+39) 06 570 53082 / 53393 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Video material/b-roll: (+39) 06 570 55980 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Audio clips: (+39) 06 570 53223 RSS feed<http://www.fao.org/news/rss-feed/en/> of FAO news releases FAO's online newsroom<http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-home/en/> Follow FAO on Twitter<http://www.fao.org/news/fao-twitter-accounts/en/> Additional tools<http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-journalists/en/> This media advisory was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 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