Protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade VISIT OF CFDA TO FAO 12 September 2014

Food, glorious food

1961/1963

CODEX was founded to Protect the health of consumers Ensure fair practices in the food trade Coordinate all food standards work done by IGOs and NGOs Build and update the Codex Alimentarius

How Codex has grown … CAC : 30 countries and 120 delegates CAC : 170 countries and over 600 delegates – members – 220 observers Covering most of the worlds population

Standards, guidelines and codes of practice Structure and process for governments and organizations to find solutions and to harmonize rules A RESULT A FORUM Much more than standards …

Aditivos Alimentarios (China) Contaminantes de los Alimentos (Países Bajos) Higiene de los Alimentos (Estados Unidos) Food Labelling (Canada) Residuos de Plaguicidas (China) Residuos de Medicamentos Veterinarios en los Alimentos (Estados Unidos) Horizontal/ general Committees Vertical/commodity Committees Milk and Milk Products (New Zealand) Processed Fruits and Vegetables (United States) Fish and Fishery Products (Norway) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Mexico) Fats and Oils (Malaysia) Cereals, Pulses and Legumes (United States) Vegetable Proteins (Canada) Natural Mineral Waters (Switzerland) Cocoa Products and Chocolate (Switzerland) Ad-hoc intergovernmental task forces Foods derived from Biotechnology (Japan) Antimicrobial Resistance (Republic of Korea) Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods (Thailand) Africa (Cameroon) Asia (Japan) Europe (Netherlands) Latin America and the Caribbean (Costa Rica) Near East (Lebanon) North America and South West Pacific (Papua New Guinnee) Executive Committee Secretariat Codex Alimentarius Commission Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (Australia) active adjourned sine die Fruit Juices (Brazil) Animal Feeding (Switzerland) dissolved active General Principles (France) Food Additives (China) Contaminants in Foods (Netherlands) Food Hygiene (United States) Pesticide Residues (China) Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (United States) Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Germany) Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Hungary) FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees Sugars (Colombia) Meat hygiene (New Zealand) Spices and culinary herbs (India)

Host country: China since 2007 Chair: Professor Xiongwu QIAO, Vice-Director of the Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Science Sessions held in: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Hangzhou, Nanjing Committee on Pesticide Residues

 Host country: China since 2007  Chair: Dr Junshi Chen, Professor of the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA),  Sessions held in: Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Hongkong Committee on Food Additives

 100s of food standards, guidelines and codes,  1000s of safe limits for pesticides and veterinary drugs residues, contaminants and food additives  Transparent and inclusive standard setting procedure – 8 steps – shortest time for adoption 1year  20 technical meetings per year allowing exchange and learning from each other, building international relations and building consensus Codex offers

 General Principles for Food Hygiene (HACCP)  General Standards for Contaminants and food additives  Risk Analysis Guidance for countries on many even controversial topics such as biotechnology and animal feeding Codex signature texts

Standards – labelling of prepackaged foods – labelling of food additives when sold as such – labelling of and claims for prepackaged foods for special dietary uses – labelling of and claims for foods for special medical purposes – use of dairy terms Guidelines – claims – nutrition labelling – use of health and nutrition claims – use of the term ‘halal’ – production, processing, marketing and labelling of organically produced foods NEW WORK: clarify date marking rules to reduce food waste Food labelling: link to the consumer

Achievements: – National food control systems – Food import and export inspection and certification systems/ Generic certificates – Exchange of information (emergencies, rejections) – Equivalence agreements/ Judgement of equivalence of measures – Conduct of foreign inspections of systems NEW work on: monitoring performance of food control systems and reducing the burden of multiple questionnaires for exporting countries Food import/export inspection and certification systems: implementing Codex to allow trade to flow

-Voluntary* -100% Member driven -Inclusive and transparent -Based on science -Works mainly by consensus Codex is …

-Really voluntary? -Yes, however for the WTO SPS agreement international standards are: “for food safety, the standards, guidelines and recommendations established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission relating to food additives, veterinary drug and pesticide residues,contaminants, methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and guidelines of hygienic practice (Annex A, 3ª)”

What will the future bring More people More food travelling the world More countries entering the world market More variety More health and safety awareness in the population = More need for harmonized rules to reduce food waste, ensure food safety and make business possible

Be faster than … 4.2 years Remain inclusive and transparent while finding consensus in a heterogeneous membership Further increase participation of developing countries Find ways to deal with emerging issues (new diseases, food fraud) Turn the issues of private standards from a threat into an opportunity = Work together, use new tools, use new partnerships ISSUES ON THE WAY

Thank you!