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This website is designed to guide users through the
area of international treaties, conventions, standards and guidelines
applicable to biotechnology. |
Title: The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). |
Summary of Role:The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is a joint body of the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation. It oversees the development of the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of food safety standards and guidelines. The CAC's main aims are to protect the health of consumers and to facilitate the international food trade through harmonisation of science based standards (http://www.codexalimentarius.net). The Codex incorporates over 290 standards and also includes maximum limits for pesticide residues and veterinary drugs in food, and guidance on food additives. Summary of Development:The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was established in 1945 to take a leading role in promoting food security, and the World Health Organisation was established in 1948 to promote human health internationally. Food safety issues are therefore of relevance to both organisations. They began their joint work on food issues in 1950 with a joint meeting of experts to discuss nutrition. An FAO Conference established the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1961 and this was approved by a meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHO's governing body) in 1963. The need for such a system has increased since then for various reasons, including recent food safety scares and the issue of genetically modified food. Since 1995, through the World Trade Organisation's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (also summarised on this site), the Codex has been recognised as the basis for acceptable food safety standards in international trade. In 2003 the CAC adopted principles and guidelines on food derived from modern biotechnology, these are also summarised on this site. Current Status:The CAC has 179 member states and one regional member, the European Community. Related Summaries on the Genomics Gateway Site:Codex Principles and Guidelines on food derived from modern biotechnology Food and Agriculture Organisation Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement Page last updated 26th March 2009. Comments/enquiries to catherine.rhodes-2 'at' manchester.ac.uk |