A global food standards setting agency has supported guidance on several topics to try and improve food safety, including traditional markets and ciguatera.
The United Nations food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Texts adopted at a meeting in November include guidelines for food hygiene control measures in traditional food markets and a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of ciguatera poisoning.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Codex must support the transformation of food systems to be more sustainable and responsive to emerging risks.
“Codex standards must not only address the present but also anticipate future needs, promoting nutrition and food safety while ensuring public health, fostering fair trade and facilitating the transition to sustainable food systems,” he said.
Main accomplishments
Codex members adopted sections on fresh leafy vegetables and sprouts in the guidelines for the control of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The document also covers raw beef, raw milk and raw milk cheese.
Other approvals involved maximum levels for lead in various spices and for lead and cadmium in quinoa as well as sampling plans for methylmercury in fish. More time was allowed to complete work on the sampling plans for total aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in dried chili pepper, nutmeg, and paprika.
Some standards were adopted despite reservations raised by certain members. For example, several countries expressed concerns about the maximum levels for lead in spices, the limits for different pesticide and food group combinations, and residues of veterinary drugs in food.
Guidelines on the prevention and control of food fraud and revised guidelines on the general principles of food hygiene to control pathogenic Vibrio species in seafood were also adopted.
Four texts were revoked, including general methods for the detection of irradiated food.
New work includes a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of cadmium contamination in foods, guidance on appeals in the context of rejection of imported food, and principles for the digitalization of national food control systems.
Guidelines on the general principles of food hygiene to control viruses in food and to control Listeria monocytogenes in food, and for the control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat, will also be revised.
Side events
Allan Azegele of Kenya was elected as the new Codex Alimentarius Commission chairperson with Khalid Al Zhrani, of Saudi Arabia; Jing Tian, of China; and Betul Vazgecer, from Turkey, named as vice-chairpersons. Azegele replaces Steve Wearne.
The United States took part in a side event on consumer food safety education and advocacy through digital platforms. Evelyne Mbandi presented the view of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Another event covered progress on WHO’s work to update foodborne disease estimates that were published in 2015 based on 2010 data. Country consultation is planned from March 2025 with final publication in late 2025. The second edition will include a time trend analysis from 2000 to 2021.
A third event discussed the WHO Alliance for Food Safety — a network of WHO Collaborating Centres and other partners that was created earlier this year. The next general meeting of the group is scheduled for 2025 in Oman.
Aims include better coordination in foodborne disease surveillance and food contamination monitoring; advocating for legal frameworks to support surveillance and monitoring efforts; building capacity in public health, animal health, and food safety analysis labs, and exchanging best practices and lessons learned among members.
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