Setting Standards for Food Quality.

• Author: Lupien, John R.
• Position: Codex Alimentarius Commission - Brief Article

"Codex" is a shorthand way of referring to the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission and to its main body of work--a collection of international standards for food quality and safety that protect consumers and facilitate international trade. The words Codex Alimentarius are Latin and mean "food law" or "food code". The Codex Alimentarius Commission bas been developing international food standards since 1963, shortly after the establishment of a joint Food Standards Programme by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAQ) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The work of Codex is the preparation of international food standards, codes of good practice, labelling guidelines and many other recommendations that Governments can use to regulate international and domestic trade in food. These are all voluntary standards; there is no direct obligation on member Governments to apply Codex standards. However, the Uruguay Round Trade Agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) oblige countries to base their national food standards and regulations on Codex standards, unless the country concerned can show legitimate reasons for applying stricter or more comprehensive standards.

Food standards, in one form or another, have been in place for centuries, and their main objective has always been the same: preventing fraudulent practices and adulteration, protecting the consumer and facilitating the exchange of goods. Advances in food chemistry and microbiology in the nineteenth century led many countries independently to develop national food standards programmes, and by the time of the United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture in 1943, it was recognized that the differences in national food standards had the potential to create barriers to trade in foods. Drawing upon initiatives in Europe to establish a regional Codex Alimentarius, FAQ established the international Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1961 and asked WHO to join it in a joint Food Standards Programme. The Commission first met in 1963 and has now held 23 meetings, the most recent one being in Rome in June/July 1999.

In the 1970s, the Commission tackled the issue of food labelling, including elements such as ingredient and additive listing, date-marking and the labelling of irradiated foods. In 1995, following extensive reviews of scientific evidence, the Commission declared that the use of hormones in beef production did not pose problems to...