The 17th meeting of the Codex Committee (on Toxins and) Contaminants in Foods (CCCF17) was held in Panama City (Panama) from 15 to 19 April 2024. CCCF17 was productive as it adopted new maximum limits (ML) for lead in several commodities (such as spices), lead and cadmium in Quinboa, a new sampling plan for methylmercury
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS: Outcome of 54th Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH54)
The 54th session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH54), co-hosted and co-chaired by USA and Kenya, concluded its work on two annexes for inclusion into the existing Guidelines for the Control of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) (CXG 99) in Fresh Leafy Vegetables and in Sprouts. It also completed its work on…
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS: Outcome of 28th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO28)
The 28th session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO28), hosted and chaired by Indonesia, concluded its work on amending the existing Standard for named vegetable oils (CXS 210) by adding four new oils (avocado, Camellia seed, Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis), high oleic acid-soybean oil). CCFO28 completed its work on amending sections…
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS: Outcome of 7th Codex Committee – Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7)
The 7th session of the Codex alimentarius Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7), chaired by India, concluded its work on several important new add-ons to existing and new standards on small cardamon; allspice, juniper berry and star anise; and turmeric. It advanced the work on vanilla, still subject to additional inter-sessional work until the…
Codex alimentarius: historical 46th meeting (CAC46) while celebrating its 60th anniversary
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, January 2024, p. 25-34.
While celebrating its 60th anniversary, the 46th CAC meeting has seen several historical decisions taken.
First and foremost, it has closed the long-standing controversy about Zilpaterol hydrochloride by adopting through two successive votes by advancing and adopting the proposed maximum…
Aspartame safety review by the WHO: a short story about a tempest in a teapot…
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, August 2023 Issue, Vol. 33, Number 3.
On July 14, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the results of the dual review of the well-known sugar-substitute aspartame by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the International Agency for Research on…
European Commission Adopts Proposal on Regulation of New Genomic Techniques
Today, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis) (‘NGTs’) and derived food and feed products.
NGTs permit more targeted genetic changes than conventional breeding or traditional genomic techniques involving the introduction of genetic material from a non-crossable species, permitting rapid development…
Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Labelling Outcome CCFL47
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, June 2023, p. 26-34.
The 47th meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL47) was held mid-May 2023 in Gatineau/Ottawa, Canada. CCFL47 advanced its food labelling international standardisation work on the revision of the list of allergens of global relevance for mandatory declaration (to…
Codex Alimentarius Committee on Contaminants in Foods: CCCF16 Outcome
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, April 2021, p. 32-34.
The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods held its 16th session (CCCF16) in Utrecht (The Netherlands) from 17 to 21 April 2023 and decided to adopt its meeting report on 26 April 2023 by e-means. The CCCF16 was very productive in terms…
Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Additives: CCFA53
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, April 2023, p. 26-31.
The 53rd meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Additives (CCFA53) was held in Hong Kong from 24 to 31 March 2023. CCFA53 succeeded in covering the entirety of its agenda. CCFA53 adopted about 800 food additive provisions for adoption, revision…