You will find in this issue the latest updates for food regulatory changes related to food allergen labeling internationally, including a review of the situation in MERCOSUR countries. Some updates on latest research related to food allergen analytical development are also highlighted.
Thanks to the Editorial team of the AOAC Food Allergen Community Newsletter for putting this newsletter together and maintaining the link between Food Allergen analytical experts and other colleagues interested in this area.
I look forward to seeing many of you during our upcoming annual meeting in the United States.
This issue offers the proceedings of the special session dedicated to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), organized at part of the China International Food Safety and Quality Conference (CIFSQ) in Beijing, China from 6-7 November 2013. This “Codex” session had the following theme: “Codex Alimentarius Commission at 50, Accomplishments and Future Challenges”. The session gathered key opinion leaders and contributors to Codex from around the world and particularly from the Asia-Pacific Region. It aimed at highlighting the accomplishments of the Codex Alimentarius Commission over the past 50 years as the preeminent food standard setting body internationally, its future challenges and areas of focus both internationally and for the Asia – Asia-Pacific region in particular. The session also highlighted the critical nature of the availability of scientific advice delivered by the expert advisory bodies to Codex led by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, as well as the importance of availability of data from countries and organizations to inform the development of such scientific advice. The session discussed the contribution of scientific and regulatory institutions in the region and elsewhere to generate and foster the availability of scientific information critical to standard setting domestically and internationally.
I had the privilege to be the organizer of this special session at CIFSQ and editor of this special issue of the IFRAJ dedicated to Codex. I would like to thank all speakers that have kindly agreed to contribute to this issue. My thanks go to the current chair of the Commission, Dr. Sanjay Dave, for his support to the organization of this session as well for his participation and his contribution with a paper to this special issue. A special thanks go to former Chair Dr. Karen Hulebak for agreeing to preface this special issue.
The International Symposium on Food Safety Standards and Risk Management was co-organised by the main United Nations international organisations leading food safety and nutrition files namely the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), represented by Dr. Ren Wang and Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director Generals of FAO and WHO respectively. The Symposium was also supported by the World Bank’s Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP). It was hosted and co-organised by China’s Food Safety Risk Assessment Centre: CFSA. The symposium was held in Beijing from March 27-28th, 2014.
The symposium was opened by Vice Ministers of China’s ministries leading food safety, namely China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Food Safety Office of the State Council. Opening remarks were also made by Senior officials from WHO and FAO, as well as the World Bank’s Director of the Agriculture and Environmental Services Department. The Symposium was chaired and moderated by officials of FAO and WHO as well as Dr. Liu, Director General of CFSA.
This international symposium allowed an opportunity to discuss the following topics:
– International food standard setting under the auspices of FAO’s and WHO’s Codex Alimentarius Commission, including the risk assessment process and the latest accomplishments of Codex, as the preeminent international food standard setter
– China’s involvement and contribution to Codex standards
– Objectives and progress of the World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership as a multi-partner food safety capacity building initiative
– Regional, domestic and local food safety challenges and associated response from industry, governments and international organisations
– Risk communication practices and challenges related to food safety issues and food standard development.
The symposium was also an opportunity to share best practices in anticipating, responding to and communicating about food safety challenges by industry and governments representing organisations in China, Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region
In less than 4 months, on July 15th, 2014, the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission will be electing a new chair for the upcoming period.
I have been humbled by the decision of the Government of Canada to nominate me as Canada’s candidate for this role. Canada has a long standing support for Codex, as a founding member of the organisation in 1963. Canada continues to be a strong advocate of Codex’s mandate to protect consumers’ health worldwide and to ensure fair practices in the food trade.
Serving as a vice chair of the commission for the last couple of years has been one of the key highlights of my 17 year career associated with food safety and nutrition. This unique opportunity provided me with the privilege to interact with and learn from food safety leaders from around the world.
Working with such a dedicated and passionate group of food safety, food quality and nutrition professionals in Codex for over a decade, has significantly contributed to my own development and experience as a food scientist and a food regulator. In particular, and as I worked to facilitate the development and adoption of Codex’s strategic plan for 2014-19, I was able to appreciate that despite the differences of opinion and the variety of positions that we may have, we are all united by common principles of evidence-based decision-making and by a common goal to protect consumers’ health and create a level playing field for food trade.
How do I see the Chair’s role:
I consider assuming the chair’s role of an organisation such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a commitment to serve the codex membership through active engagement and decisive action, in alignment with the mandate of the Commission.
Serving the membership means to actively seek and listen to members’ interests and concerns and shape the direction based on their insights and input. It also means facilitating and steering the dialogue between members and fostering their engagement in Codex decision-making processes in a manner that upholds Codex’s mandate and Codex’s principles and advances our efforts to develop international food standards that serve as a reference for food regulators and food producers around the world.
I will be using this medium and other posts to share some of my thoughts and views on the responsibilities and duties of the Chairperson of Codex, considering the environment in which Codex is currently evolving. I continue to welcome your input and suggestions either via this blog or by visiting CanadaForCodex.com
The US Food and Drug Administration announced proposed changes to the nutrition facts panels that appear on prepackaged foods, as part of an overhaul of nutrition labeling requirements.
The proposed changes are quite significant and include updates of the Daily values for some nutrients to reflect the latest scientific advice provided by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). They also include updates to the serving size that ought to be presented on the food label as well as the list of core nutrients subject to mandatory declaration.
Questions were posed as to whether Canada’s requirements are meant to follow suit. The Government of Canada has committed through the most recent Speech from the Throne to consult with Canadian consumers and parents with the purpose of improving nutrition information on food labels. This step is currently under way and is critical to characterize Canadian consumers’ understanding of nutrition information presented on food labels, consumers’ interests, their concerns and what they identify as areas requiring improvement.
Canada’s nutrition labelling requirements are also grounded in scientific evidence. In fact, a number of reviews of the IOM were co-funded by US agencies and Health Canada. This will likely support further alignment of some requirements related to nutrition labeling between Canada and the United States.
Reflecting the Canadian context will be pivotal for any changes made to Canada’s nutrition labeling requirements to better serve Canadian consumers’ needs and help them make informed nutrition and dietary decisions.
Des informations ont circulé mettant en doute l’innocuité de l’additif alimentaire Azodicarbonamide (ADA) suite à des actions volontaires prises par l’industrie alimentaire aux États-Unis d’en arrêter l’addition dans certains produits alimentaires.
Ce court article décrit l’environnement réglementaire actuel qui gouverne l’utilisation de l’azodicarbonamide (ADA) dans les aliments disponibles à la vente au Canada ainsi que ses conditions d’innocuité.
L’azodicarbonamide (ADA) est considéré comme un additif alimentaire approuvé au Canada dans le pain, la farine et la farine de blé entier comme agent de blanchiment, de maturation ou pour conditionner les pâtes, à un niveau maximum de 45 parties par million (ppm) or 45 microgramme par gramme de farine.
Comme pour tous les additifs alimentaires permis d’utilisation au Canada, l’azodicarbonamide (ADA) a subi une évaluation scientifique rigoureuse permettant d’en définir les conditions sécuritaires d’utilisation au Canada avant d’en permettre l’addition dans les aliments. L’évaluation de Santé Canada a déterminé que ni l’azodicarbonamide (ADA), aux concentrations permises selon le règlement sur les aliments et les drogues, ni le semicarbazide, un des composés qui pourraient en résulter suite aux processus de transformation alimentaires, ne représentent un risque pour la santé des Canadiens.
En se basant sur les données scientifiques les plus courantes et probantes, il n’y a pas lieu de considérer un changement des conditions d’autorisation de cet additif alimentaire au Canada, d’un point de vue d’innocuité alimentaire.
Dans cette lettre, la direction des aliments de Santé Canada note que les scientifiques du ministère « évaluent toute nouvelle information scientifique sur les additifs alimentaires, incluant toute information qui pourrait remettre en question leur innocuité ». La direction note aussi que les instances réglementaires Canadiennes « travaillent régulièrement en coopération avec d’autres instances de réglementation des aliments à l’échelle internationale, y compris aux États-Unis d’Amérique, sur une multitude de questions d’innocuité des aliments » et que s’il advenait que « de nouvelles informations scientifiques confirmaient que les concentrations extrêmement faibles d’azodicarbonamide (ADA) représentent un risque quelconque sur la santé des consommateurs canadiens, Santé Canada prendrait les mesures nécessaires immédiatement pour répondre à ces risques potentiels ou avérés ».
A number of reports have recently questioned the safety of Azodicarbonamide (ADA) amid some industry voluntary action to stop its use in a number of food products in the United Stated.
This short post summarizes the current environment related to the safety of Azodicarbonamide (ADA) and its conditions of use in foods available for sale in Canada.
In Canada, azodicarbonamide (ADA) is an approved food additive in bread, flour and whole wheat flour as a bleaching or improving agent at a maximum level of use of 45 parts per million (ppm) or microgram per gram of flour.
As with all food additives approved for use in Canada, Azodicarbonamide (ADA) has undergone a thorough safety assessment prior to its approval. Health Canada’s assessment determined that neither Azodicarbonamide (ADA), at the levels it is allowed for use under the Food and Drug Regulations, or Semicarbazide, one of Azodicarbonamide’s break down products would be considered to pose a health risk for Canadian consumers.
Based on the latest scientific information available to date, there is no requirement to change the conditions of approval of this additive in Canada.
In this letter, Health Canada’s Food Directorate notes that the Department’s scientists “review all new scientific information on food additives, including any that might raise concerns about (their) safety”. Health Canada’s Food Directorate adds that it “works closely with other jurisdictions, including the United States of America, on a broad range of food safety issues” and that “Should new evidence become available indicating that the low levels of azodicarbonamide that may be found in certain permitted foods represent a possible health risk to Canadian consumers, Health Canada would take immediate and appropriate action to address that risk”.
Faisant suite à la décision du Codex Alimentarius à sa dernière session de Juillet 2013, l’inde organise cette semaine la première session du comité Codex sur les épices et les herbes culinaires (CCSCH) à Cochin du 11 au 14 février 2014.
Ce comité permettra au Codex d’assumer un rôle de première ligne dans les processus d’harmonisation des normes de qualité pour les épices et les herbes culinaires, permettant une confiance accrue de la part des consommateurs et l’ouverture de nouveaux marchés.
Le Codex joue déjà un rôle prépondérant en offrant des normes de sécurité sanitaire qui s’appliquent dors et déjà aux épices. Davantage de progrès sera désormais accompli avec l’avènement de ce nouveau comité avec un ordre du jour ambitieux. Il est indéniable que le travail de ce comité et ses normes auront des retombées positives sur les pays producteurs et exportateurs, qui sont pour la plupart des pays en développement de toutes les régions du monde, notamment sur le bien-être économique des agriculteurs de ses régions.
Félicitations au Gouvernement indien pour son leadership dans l’organisation de ce comité et la direction de ses travaux sous l’égide de la commission du Codex Alimentarius.
Sharing opinions and updates from a Food Regulatory Scientist 