Institute for Food Laws and Regulations

Learn more about Codex Alimentarius in Scott Haskell's online course “Animal Health, World Trade, and Food Safety” (this fall semester 2021), and Neal Fortin's course "Codex Alimentarius - The World Food Code" (this spring semester 2022). Fortin also reviews Codex in his course "International Food Laws and Regulations" (offered each fall and spring semester).

Food safety is a top priority to both domestic and global human health. The recent defunding of the World Health Organization (WHO) by the United States government was a significant error in our basic comprehension of the role that the WHO plays in a diverse array of human health programs. It is my hope that we not only refund this program immediately but that we once again grow to support and embrace WHOs actions to ensure both domestic and global food safety and subsequent world health. The World Health Organization along with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) support global food safety through their technical scientific consultive actions with the Codex Alimentarius.

Let’s take an informed look at global food safety: Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international guidelines, codes of ethical practices and acceptable legal standards, which are essential to both the protection of the health of global consumers and to ensure fair trade practices in the international food and food products arena. This “food code” is designed to cover the entire food production chain (e.g., ‘farm to fork’), which allows world governments and national industries to embrace and establish science-based, internationally acceptable set of food standards. These standards emphasize the safe trade of food.

Since its inception in 1963, Codex Alimentarius has developed and managed hundreds of globally recognized food standards, codes of practice, food production and harvesting rules, guidelines for safe food and the fair international trade of these products. The stated highest priority of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is to protect the health of consumers.

So how does the World Health Organization interplay in the arena of food safety? Food standards of the Codex Alimentarius are based on sound science with an accepted global scientific presence. Global experts are selected to consult with Codex through interactions with the WHO and the FAO. These standards have undergone the most rigorous scientific evaluations prior to being assigned to committees by Codex. So why do these food safety standards matter to each of us as consumers? The amount of food and food products traded and imported on a global basis has risen exponentially over the last decade. We are now a true global trading community with a plethora of partners. The food chain from ‘farm to fork’ has gotten much more in-depth with at times seemingly limited international transparency. These food standards are essential to guarantee food safety for all, they define a point of origin for these products, allow product safety trace-back to occur, ensure that food quality standards are met, and that food products are traded and accepted without the unfair use of food embargos globally.

International trade standards can and have improved the guaranteed availability of safe food for an ever-increasing global population while changes in climate will require ever-greater physical distances for production and shipping to meet consumers buying trends in the future. The Joint WHO/FAO Food Standards Programme implemented by the Codex Alimentarius Commission is an extremely important global inter-governmental food standards setting body. Its standards are published as the Codex Alimentarius. Importantly these global standards or ‘food codes’ certify the entire production chain from ‘farm to fork’ through rigorous science-based evaluations which are internationally accepted as ‘safe food’. Codex Alimentarius is essential for industries, growers and packers, governments and the consumer to help ensure the quality and safety of food. The WHO and the FAO are essential in their supportive role within scientific research and investigation.

So how does the World Health Organization along with the Food and Agriculture Organization work to help provide food safety?  There are four expert bodies functioning through the WHO/FAO that provide scientific advice to Codex: JECFA, JMPR, JEMRA, JEMNU

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) provides independent and transparent scientific expert advice to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and its essential specialist Committees on microbiologic and infectious agents. This extremely important committee helps develop the scientific evidence to support global food safety standards. “Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances can cause more than 200 different diseases – ranging from diarrhea to cancers. Around the world, an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people – fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, resulting in 420,000 deaths and the loss of 33 million healthy life years (DALYs).” (https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-safety/)

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is a group of international scientific experts who look at food additives and contaminants. JECFA works independently from other agencies and governments in performing risk assessment and providing advice to member countries through Codex. Requests for scientific advice by the Codex Alimentarius Commission are made to WHO/FAO for the development of global food standards and guidelines to protect food and subsequently the consumers. JECFA over time, has evaluated more than 2600 food additives, residues of over 95 globally approved veterinary drugs and 50 or more contaminants found in food. JECFA also establishes essential acceptable daily intake (ADI) levels of human food additives and the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for animal drugs in tissues of consumptive products based on sound science and toxicologic testing.

The Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) provide needed transparency and independent scientific expert advice to the Codex Alimentarius Commission on issues pertaining to pesticide residues in food and food products. It should be noted that both the WHO and the FAO maintain separate websites of their findings for complete transparency and highlighting the subsequent findings of the JMPR. Additionally, JMPR reviews pesticide use and evaluates environmental contamination levels of pesticides.

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Nutrition (JEMNU)

Is a relatively new committee first established in 2010. JEMNU has strengthened the role of the WHO and the FAO in providing the sound science necessary to make human nutrition evaluations, judgements and statements for member states through Codex globally. JEMNU works closely with the Codex Committee for Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU). Additionally, JEMNU provides the necessary scientific evidence to the risk managers at Codex Alimentarius.  This information can then allow for the formation of acceptable human health protection standards and subsequently affect international trade.

So how does CODEX and the WHO/FAO affect the United States directly? Within the U.S., the U.S. Codex Program is a designated interagency partnership that also promotes and utilizes science-based food standards which are acceptable both domestically and internationally. Human health concerns as well as ensuring fair practices in global food trade are essential functions of the U.S. Codex. Importantly, they operate domestically in setting our food standards. The U.S. Codex Office (USCO) acts to engage stakeholders in the development and advancement of science-based food safety and quality standards which benefits both the United States and our global trading community.

So as can be seen, the World Health Organization is much more than an organization regulating the global pandemic Covid-19 outbreak or HIV response efforts. It is an essential player in the realm of food safety and subsequent global trade. It is essential that we as members of a just global society ensure the continued support of the World Health Organization. Re-funding and subsequently pledging continuous future funding to the WHO is essential to help ensure the food we all consume is safe and traded fairly.

From the WHO website: “Food safety, nutrition and food security are closely linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. In addition to contributing to food and nutrition security, a safe food supply also supports national economies, trade and tourism, stimulating sustainable development. The globalization of food trade, a growing world population, climate change and rapidly changing food systems have an impact on the safety of food. WHO aims to enhance at a global and country-level the capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats associated with unsafe food.” (https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-safety/)

Disclaimer

References

Codex (2020) What’s next for standards? http://www.fao.org/3/cb1502en/CB1502EN.pdf,  accessed March 3, 2021

Savelli, C, et al. (2019) The FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network in Review, 2004-2018: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future. Foodborne Pathog Dis 2019 Jul;16(7):480-488.

 doi: 10.1089/fpd.2018.2582. Epub 2019 Mar 30. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6653783/ , accessed March 1, 2021

Arendt, Maryse (2018) Codex Alimentarius: What Has It to Do with Me? J Hum Lact. 2018 Nov;34(4):704-710. doi: 10.1177/0890334418794658. Epub 2018 Sep 25. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30253115/, accessed March 5, 2021

Vojir, F, et al. (2012) The origins of a global standard for food quality and safety: Codex Alimentarius Austriacus and FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2012 Jun;82(3):223-7.

 doi: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000115. https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/pdf/10.1024/0300-9831/a000115 , accessed March 8, 2021

Codex (2020) Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025 http://www.fao.org/3/ca5645en/CA5645EN.pdf , accessed March 1, 2021

Codex (2019) the year of food safety. http://www.fao.org/3/ca5180en/ca5180en.pdf , accessed March 7, 2021

WHO: Food Safety (2021) https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-safety , accessed March 1, 2021

Savelli C. Investigating Barriers and Best Practices for Intersectoral Collaboration and Active Participation in the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN). 2014. Available at: www.lcirah.ac.uk/sites/default/files/LCIRAH%20SAVELLI.pdf, accessed March 1, 2021

WHO. Advancing Food Safety Initiative: Strategic Plan for Food Safety Including Foodborne Zoonoses 2013–2022. 2014. Available at: www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/strategic-plan/en, accessed March 3, 2021

WHO. Global Burden of Foodborne Disease Report. 2015. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/200046/1/WHO_FOS_15.02_eng.pdf?ua=1, accessed March 10, 2021

WHO. Joint External Evaluation Tool, Second Edition. 2018a. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259961/9789241550222-eng.pdf?sequence=1, accessed March 12, 2021