Chef

Name: Freddy Cabezas

The Codex Alimentarius

The codex alimentarius commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develope food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes ofpractice under the joint FAO/WHO food standards programmed. The main purpose of this program is to protect the health of the consumers within the fair trading practice. By doing so, they also promotecoordination of all food standardized work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Codex alimentarius is about safe, good food for everyone - everywhere.International food trade has existed for thousands of years but until not too long ago food was mainly produced, sold and consumed locally. Over the last century the amount of food traded internationally hasgrown exponentially, and a quantity and variety of food never before possible travels the globe today.

The Codex alimentarius international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice contributeto the safety, quality and fairness of this international food trade. Consumers can trust the safety and quality of the food products they buy and importers can trust that the food they ordered willbe in accordance with their specifications.

Public concerns about food safety issues are often placing codex at the centre of global debates. Biotechnology, pesticides, food additives andcontaminants are some of the issues discussed in codex meetings. Codex standards are based on the best available science assisted by independent international risk assessment bodies or ad-hoc consultationsorganized by fao and who.

While being recommendations for voluntary application by members, codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation.
International governmental andnon-governmental organizations can become accredited codex observers to provide expert information, advice and assistance to the commission.


Since its beginnings in 1963, the codex system has...