The U.S.-led group advances Codex food fraud work

A Codex committee has made progress on guidelines for preventing and controlling food fraud.

The draft guidance has been sent to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption, which will meet in Switzerland in November.

The United States chaired the electronic working group. It will also lead a group dealing with outstanding issues and comments, especially as some concerns were expressed about a lack of clarity on the scope of the guidelines.

Australia hosted the latest session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) in Cairns, Queensland, earlier this month. Food safety regulators from 60 countries and international organizations met to discuss food standards.

CCFICS is a committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the food standards-setting body of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Potential new work
Progress was made regarding guidance on the equivalence of food controls and traceability within national food control systems.

Four new work proposals have also been proposed. These include guidance on appeals mechanisms due to the rejection of imported food, harmonizing the use of food establishment listing for market access, guidelines for the presentation of sanitary attestations on export certificates to better enable the transition to paperless trade, and principles to guide the digitalization of national food control systems. These must be approved at Codex’s November meeting.

In recent years, the committee has worked on guidelines for remote audits and inspections, paperless trade (eCert), and the use of voluntary third-party assurance. The next session will be held in October 2026.

Tina Hutchison, Deputy Secretary for Agricultural Trade and Regulation, said: “The international harmonization of food safety approaches within countries’ national food control systems and their import and export inspection and certification systems helps facilitate trade, reduce regulatory costs, and protect the health of consumers.”

Time for reflection
Meanwhile, in September, the United States, the European Union, France, and Germany organized an event on international food safety standards.

Speakers represented European and American risk assessors, risk managers, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and its parent organizations.

Alexis Taylor, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), spoke about the contributions of scientific and regulatory experts representing the United States in Codex.

“The expertise provides the scientific foundation for Codex’s value and integrity as the premiere international food standards-setting body,” she said.

While the U.S. and EU food safety systems differ in structure and regulatory approaches, both sides stressed a commitment to scientific rigor and effectiveness of consumer protection measures.

In recent years, the partnership between the U.S. and the EU has helped address food safety and trade challenges, especially with increasing concern around public health issues and sustainable food systems. Their work has led to the creation of several key standards and guidelines in the areas of food hygiene, contamination of food and feed, and foodborne antimicrobial resistance, which have become benchmarks for countries around the world.

“Sixty years of existence of Codex Alimentarius and 20 years of the EU’s membership in Codex give reason to celebrate, review past achievements, and reflect on current and future challenges,” said Sandra Gallina, Director-General of DG SANTE at the European Commission.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/09/u-s-led-group-advances-codex-food-fraud-work/