Codex Alimentarius: A briefing on the International Food Safety Body and its Dynamics

Peter Sousa HoejskovFood Quality and Safety Officer

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Complying with Market Requirements on Food Safety and Product Quality

Second Regional Training Workshop – Linking Farmers to Markets

19-23 January 2009, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Outline

Food quality and safety standards Introduction to Codex Objectives of Codex Codex strategic plans and goals Codex organisational structure The process of developing Codex standards Codex in relation to the WTO Agreements The impact of private standards on Codex Conclusions

Importance of food safety standards Vital component of food safety control

systems; providing the basis for inspection, testing and certification activities

Provide guidance to industry, consumers, government and other players in the food supply chain for determining the safety of their products

Provide a general view of requirements for international trade in food

About Codex Alimentarius

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS is a latin term for food code

The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of food standards, guidelines and codes of practice developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission

Codex Alimentarius Commission

Parent organizations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations (FAO) World Health Organization (WHO)

Membership: 176 member countries and 1 member organisation

(EU) Over 200 observers from UN and other

intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations (Industry, consumer and academia)

Codex Objectives (1):

To protect the health of consumers, To ensure fair practices in the food trade, To coordinate all work regarding food

standards

Codex Objectives (2):

To determinate the priorities for global food safety

To initiate the preparation of standards

To publish the standards

Codex plays a prominent role in the development of international standards and

in bringing about harmonization

Codex strategic vision statement

The CAC envisages a world afforded the highest attainable levels of consumer

protection including food safety and quality. To this end, the Commission will develop

internationally agreed standards and related texts for use in domestic regulation and

international trade in food that are based on scientific principles and fulfill the objectives of consumer health protection and fair practices

in food trade

Source: Codex Alimentarius Commission – Strategic Plan 2008-2013

Codex strategic goals: 2008-20131. Promoting sound regulatory frameworks2. Promoting widest and consistent application

of scientific principles and risk analysis3. Strengthening Codex work-management

capabilities4. Promoting cooperation between Codex and

relevant international organizations5. Promoting maximum and effective

participation of members

Codex strategic plan for CCASIA 2009-2014 (1)1. To develop and strengthen national food

regulatory system and Codex Contact Point and/or National Codex Committee

2. To strengthen communication and coordination amongst the CCASIA members, with other regions and Codex Secretariat as well as other relevant organizations

3. To achieve maximum and effective participation of member countries in the activities of CCASIA, Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies

Codex strategic plan for CCASIA 2009-2014 (2)

4. To strengthen scientific and technical capacities of member countries in the region

5. To promote use of Codex standards and related texts as a basis for national legislation

6. To develop and/or review Codex standards and related texts taking into account regional interests

Codex Alimentarius Commission – structure and management

The Executive Committee, The 6 Regional Coordinating Committees The Secretariat of the Commission

Subsidiary bodies of the Codex Alimentarius Commission: Codex Committees:

Codex committees for general principles Committees for special types of foodstuff

products Ad-hoc Intergovernmental Special Work

Groups Biotechnology Antimicrobial resistance Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods

Codex organizational chart

Codex standards

Focus: Standards for products, processes and systems

for ensuring food safety Coverage:

Foods widely traded Applicability:

Voluntary but the WTO encourages countries to adopt Codex standards

Food safety areas of concern (1) Unallowed chemicals / proper use of allowed

chemicals: Environmental &/or processing contaminants Microbial toxins Residues of pesticides & veterinary drags Use of food additives

Microbial contaminations: Foodborne pathogens Development of antimicrobial resistance

Food safety areas of concern (2) Best practice

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) HACCP Prevention and control of contaminants

New technologies Biotechnology, genetically engineered foods, food irradiation,

nanotechnology Other

Import / export certification systems Methods of analysis and sampling Labeling

Codex process for standards development (1) A country proposes development of a new

standard in a committee New work is being approved by the CAC Proponent of new work leads the effort to

get the standard adopted Scientific data including risk assessment

information provided by FAO/WHO expert bodies and others is being collected

Codex process for standards development (2) Proposed draft standards are submitted to

members of the Committee and international organizations for comments and the standards is amended accordingly

The standard preparation goes through a process of 8 steps before the standard can be adopted as a Codex standard

A Codex committee, as the risk manager, adopts the standard

Codex Alimentarius Commission – Achievements so far... Products

Over 240 food standards 40 hygienic and technological practice codes 700 food additives and contaminants evaluated 50 veterinary drugs evaluated 3,200 maximum pesticide residue limits More than 1,000 maximum limits for food

additives and contaminants

Codex in relation to the WTO Agreements The SPS Agreement calls on countries to harmonize their

national standards with “international standards, guidelines

or recommendations

Codex Standards are defined as “international standards,

guidelines or recommendations” for food safety Codex standards are recognized bythe World Trade

Organisation (WTO) as “presumptively valid” for use in

international trade and the TBT Agreement calls on

countries to use relevant international standards when they

exist

... Regulating compliance with food safety standards Compliance with food safety standards is the

role of farmers and other players in the food supply chain

Food safety attributes, unlike food quality, are not immediately visible to the consumers

Thus compliance with food safety requirements has to be monitored and regulated by governments

International food safety regulations and standards - Managing the cost of compliance The cost of compliance with food safety measures

should fit within the overall framework of managing for product competitiveness Food safety standards should adequately protect consumer

health and be reasonably feasible for farmers and industry to implement

Standards should not restrict innovation and market access Technologies should be provided to encourage farmers and

industry to comply

The Codex trust fund and FAO capacity building programmes Provision of funding for developing countries to attend Codex meetings

Provision of training programmes for understanding Codex procedures Latest training was the “Codex Training

Course for Asia and the Pacific” which was held from 13 to 15 November 2008 prior to the CCAsia 2009

Other FAO capacity building activities in Asia in support of Codex, ex: Workshop on Codex information sources,

Bangkok Dec. 2006 Basic awareness course on microbiological

risk assessment, Jakarta Nov. 2006 FAO/WHO Regional Workshop on HACCP in

small and less developed food business, Jakarta Aug. 2008

Private food quality and safety standards in relation to Codex Implemented by retailers and food industry Flexible standards that are negotiated

between buyers and sellers Dynamic standards that can rapidly be

changed on the basis of demand Tend to be more stringent, more rigorously

enforced and wider in scope than Codex standards

Drivers for implementation of private food quality and safety standards Disharmony in public standards and SPS measures

across countries The demand for standards has out-paced the supply of

public standards Advancement in food safety science and growing public

awareness of health safety issues Following food scares, consumers expect retailers,

through their purchasing practices, to supplement Government regulations for ensuring food safety

Consumers and retailers are demanding more transparency, traceability and quality assurance in the food chain

General challenges of private food safety standards Inconsistency among various sets of standards Multiple reporting and documenting systems Market requirements differ from Government

work on standard setting Private standards undermine international fora

for standard setting (Risk of establishing parallel standard systems)

Not necessarily any price incentive of compliance with private standards

FAO publication

Conclusions (1)

All countries have an interest in ensuring that Codex standards protect human health and achieve this without hindering trade and economic development

External assistance by organisations and an internal commitment by countries to provide the needs for effective participation in Codex are both essential to achieve this

Conclusions (2)

One of the main challenges for Codex is the rapid development and implementation of private standards and requirements

Goodwill based on an understanding that development of relevant standards is a shared responsibility, should enable Codex to keep moving forward

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION

peter.hoejskov@fao.org

www.fao.org or www.fao.org/world/regional/rap