Codex Alimentarius Commission

Thanking members of the #CodexAlimentarius Commission and Congratulating the new chair

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Statement made by Samuel Godefroy at the opening of the morning session of Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 – during the 37th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission: 

I would like to renew my congratulations to Ms. Awilo Ochieng Pernet for having been elected Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission with such a broad level of support from Commission members.

I would like to wish her all the success in leading our deliberations and in advancing the mandate and upholding the principles of Codex.

I would like to acknowledge and thank our current Chair, Sanjay Dave, for his leadership and for his wise guidance to all three of us, Ms. Ochieng-Pernet, Professor Sefa Dede and myself, during our tenure as Vice-Chairs of Codex.

I would like to add two words of acknowledgement:

–  I would like to acknowledge the commitment of the Government of Canada to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, for presenting and supporting my candidacy to seek the position of Chair of the Commission.

– I would also like to acknowledge our small, but ever so entrepreneurial campaign team for their support to me, in shaping a vision and proposal for Codex. I would like to thank you all, members of the Commission for the way you responded to this proposal and for enriching this vision with your views and suggestions.

I was very much humbled by your expressions of support and your kind encouragement to me, during the campaign and after the announcement of the election results. I know that through this experience, I have gained and strengthened many friendships among our Codex family, and for that I am so grateful.

Thank you again.

Some thoughts on #CodexAlimentarius Achievements and Challenges ahead, published in Int’l #Food Risk Analysis J.

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This paper, published in the International Food Risk Analysis Journal, attempts to present some of the key accomplishments of the Codex Alimentarius Commission over the past 50 years, viewed through my own lens as a food scientist and a food regulator. It also offered me the opportunity to share some of my views as to a few challenges that I have identified and that the organisation is facing currently and in the near future with suggestions as to how possibly address them.

I welcome input of the Codex membership and peer food safety, nutrition and food quality scientists and regulators on these thoughts and considerations.

IFRAJ-Eng

Special issue dedicated to #Codex published in Int’l Food Risk Analysis Journal

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A special issue of the International Food Risk Analysis Journal (IFRAJ) was made available recently and is dedicated to the activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

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.

 

Great opportunity to engage with CCASIA colleagues during their #CodexAlimentarius Colloquium

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Honored to join participants of the CCASIA Codex Colloquium - in preparation of CAC 37.

Honored to join participants of the CCASIA Codex Colloquium – in preparation of CAC 37.

I was honored to take part in the CCASIA Codex Colloquium co-organised by the Government of Japan, as the Coordinator for the Asia region and the US Department of Agriculture from June 25-27, 2014 in Tokyo. The meeting gathered representatives of most of the member countries of CCASIA, as well as colleagues from the United States, Brazil and Mali. The meeting focused on discussing the outcomes of the most recent Codex Committee meetings and the proposed items referred to the Commission for its consideration: standards in progress, standards for adoption and new proposed work.

 

Enjoying exchange of views and opportunities to discuss Codex challenges and future directions with peers and colleagues from Pakistan, Vietnam and Mali.

Enjoying exchange of views and opportunities to discuss Codex challenges and future directions with peers and colleagues from Pakistan, Vietnam and Mali.

The meeting was a great opportunity for me, to engage directly with colleagues from the Asian region and discuss their Codex priorities, their challenges as well as opportunities for shaping a vision for the agenda of Codex in the upcoming years, building on the direction provided by the Codex Strategic Plan 2014-19. I was able to raise with peers and colleagues a number of themes of focus such as the ability of Asian countries to contribute systematically to Codex work through provision of data or through the assessment of the impacts of proposed Codex standards on their food sector in their respective countries. Similarly, the ability to harness existing scientific resources in the region and devote them to serve Codex needs and to support data gathering and submission from the region, in response to calls for data by FAO and WHO, was also discussed.

 

With Dr. Yayoi Tsujiyama (Japan), Dr.Mahamadou Sako (Mali) and Dr. Gilherme Costa (Brazil) candidates for Vice chairperson position of the CAC in 2014.

With Dr. Yayoi Tsujiyama (Japan), Dr.Mahamadou Sako (Mali) and Dr. Gilherme Costa (Brazil) candidates for Vice chairperson position of the CAC in 2014.

 

 

This meeting enabled me to exchange views on the furture agenda of Codex with my colleagues Dr. Yayoi Tsujiyama (Japan), Dr. Mahamadou Sako (Mali) and Dr. Gilherme Costa (Brazil), candidates for the Vice Chairperson position of Codex.

 

 

 

I would like to convey my most sincere appreciation to the meeting organisers for their invitation to contribute to these discussions and thank our Japanese hosts for their outstanding hospitality.

A great opportunity to meet food stakeholders at the 2nd World Food Safety Conference

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Second World Food Safety Conference Bangkok – Thailand 22-23 May 2014

Discussing Food Safety Standards challenges

Discussing Food Safety Standards challenges

On May 23, 2014, I was privileged to contribute to the Second World Food Safety Conference held in Bangkok Thailand, by making a presentation reviewing the drivers influencing food standard setting internationally and the resulting trends. The presentation made the case for the necessity of enhanced worksharing and collaboration amongst food regulators regionally and internationally, aiming for added efficiency and convergence in food regulatory requirements. The need to align standard development with the principles and outputs of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, as the preeminent international food standard setting body was highlighted. Participating in the meeting provided me with an excellent opportunity to discuss with a number of food stakeholders in Thailand, in Asia and the Asia Pacific region overall current and emerging challenges related to food safety and nutrition.

With Dr. Pisan Pongsapitch and his team and with H.E. Ambssador Philip Calvert, Canadian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand

With Dr. Pisan Pongsapitch and his team and with H.E. Ambassador Philip Calvert, Canadian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand

My visit to Thailand gave me the opportunity to meet and exchange with peer food safety regulators and colleagues from Thailand, particularly Dr. Pisan Pongsapitch, Director of Standard Development, in the Thai Department of Agriculture and his team. My thanks and gratitude to our Thai hosts for their kind and generous hospitality

With Dr. Pisan Pongsapitch, Director of Standard Development, Thai Ministry of Agriculture

With Dr. Pisan Pongsapitch, Director of Standard Development, Thai Ministry of Agriculture

Capacity Building Activities essential to #Codexalimentarius – Aiming for more inclusive processes and engaged membership

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The Strategic Plan 2014-19 adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission membership at its last commission meeting in 2013 reaffirmed the importance of capacity building initiatives dedicated to strengthen Codex structures, support participation and engagement of developing countries and ensure that Codex standards are truly global with an effective contribution from all countries, including developing countries. A specific Strategic Goal (Strategic Goal 3: Facilitate effective participation of all codex members) was dedicated to this purpose. Similar endeavours are also to be pursued under Strategic Goal 2, with the objective to ensure that scientific evidence supporting Codex standards be provided by as many members as possible.

Last month, I had the opportunity to participate in two capacity building initiatives recently held in Canada and the United States, where I was honored to contribute to the scientific and technical program developed by the organizers.

From left to right : Michael Abbott (HC), Dr. Stephen Taylor (FARRP), Jean-Marc Gélinas (HC), Dr. Terry Koerner (HC)

From left to right : Michael Abbott (HC), Dr. Stephen Taylor (FARRP), Jean-Marc Gélinas (HC), Dr. Terry Koerner (HC)

The APEC / Health Canada / FARRP Capacity building initiative on food allergen management was held in Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada, from May 4-8, 2014. I was particularly honoured to contribute to the May 4th session dedicated to introduce the issue of food allergen management as an emerging area of concern that requires added attention by all stakeholders: food industry across the entire supply chain, food regulators and consumers. This session was followed by the Health Canada / FARRP Food Allergen Methodologies Workshop. Canada was supported by several APEC economies to enable participation of a broader audience of food regulators from the Asia Pacific Region to the workshop. A record attendance was registered for this session of the Workshop, which is now considered a regular hub gathering food allergen experts from around the world.

With some members of the US Codex capacity building team

With some members of the US Codex capacity building team

On May 14-15th, 2014, I was also honoured to contribute to the US Codex Partnership initiative, a capacity building activity gathering Codex representatives from around the world, in Washington DC (USA). I had the opportunity to discuss with the workshop participants the various steps that led us to develop and adopt by consensus the Codex strategic plan 2014-19. The workshop was an invaluable opportunity to meet and exchange views with Codex representatives and colleagues from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia/ Pacific and Africa on Codex activities, upcoming challenges and opportunities of enhanced collaboration.

An invaluable opportunity to meet and discuss with Codex peers and colleagues, from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean

An invaluable opportunity to meet and discuss with Codex peers and colleagues, from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean

سعيد بلقاء الزملاء المختصين بسلامة و جودة الغذاء بالشرق الأدنى

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خلاصة مشاركتي في مؤتمر سلامة و جودة الأغذية المنظم في أبوظبي – دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة – ماي ٢٠١٤ –  Summary of my participation in the Food Safety and Quality Conference – Abu Dhabi, UAE, May 2014

أتاحت لي الفرصة للمشاركة في مؤتمر سلامة و جودة الغذاء المنعقد بأبوظبي، في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة ٧-٨ ماي/آذار. وقد سمحت لي هذه المشاركة من تقديم مهمة و إنجازات الدستور الغذائي في الفترة الاخيرة على الصعيد العالمي و أهميتها على الصعيد لإقليمي، لما تمكنه من فرص التوافق في صياغة و تبني معايير سلامة و جودة الغذاء في المنطقة. وقد تمكنت من خلال هذه المشاركة على تبادل الآراء و التجارب مع الزملاء المختصينن في المجالات المعنية و اصحاب المصلحة من الجامعيين و مصنعي الأغذية والمسؤولين في إدارات تقييس و مراقبة المنتجات الغذائية.  وقد أكدت للزملاءالكرام التزام كندا و التزامي شخصيا، كمرشح لرئاسة الهيئة، بدعم هيئة الدستور الغذائي عن طريق تكريس ريادة حيادية، غير منحازة و متمسكة بمبادئ التعاون و تسهيل اتفاق الآراء بين مختلف أعظاء الهيئة في صياغة معايير الغذاء. وفي وجه عوامل و محركات التغيير التي تواجهها سلامة وجودة الغذاء، أكدنا جميعاعلى ظرورة العمل سويا على دعم سلامة الغذاء ومعايير الجودة العالمية الى الامام

With Food Safety Colleagues of the NEA

Conference Program

Presentation made during the Conference : Codex Accomplishments and relevance to the Near East Region

English text : Great opportunity to meet and engage with food safety and quality peers and experts from the Near East Region

I was given the opportunity to participate in the Food and Safety and Quality conference held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 7-8 May 2014.

This participation allowed me to share the accomplishments of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, as the preeminent food international standard setter and the impacts of its standards at the regional level, with opportunities to drive convergence of food safety and quality standards across the Near East region.

Meeting with food safety and quality experts representing the broad stakeholder community from the region: academia, food processors and regulators, allowed me to hear and share views, experiences and insights into current challenges and opportunities in food standard development activities for the region. This visit allowed me to reiterate to colleagues from the region, Canada’s commitments, and mine as a candidate for the chair position of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, to impartial and collaborative leadership, with a focus on fostering an open dialogue amongst the Codex membership that supports consensus development, as a core value guiding Codex operations – Another milestone in “Working together to Advance Global Food Safety and Quality”.

 

Trois organisations de consommateurs et de Santé Publique expriment leur soutien à la candidature du Canada à la présidence du Codex

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La protection des consommateurs est au cœur de la mission du Codex Alimentarius. Ceci implique non seulement la protection de la santé des consommateurs des risques potentiels associés à certains dangers alimentaires, notamment les pathogènes et autres contaminants alimentaires et ce, à travers les normes de sécurité sanitaire ; mais aussi la protection des consommateurs des tentatives de fraude ou de mauvaise représentation des aliments à travers les normes de qualité et/ou d’étiquetage des aliments qui sont échangés à l’échelle internationale.

J’ai été très touché par le soutien exprimé par trois (3) associations nationales de consommateurs et de santé publique du Canada pour ma nomination à être candidat à la présidence de la Commission du Codex Alimentarius, dont l’élection se tiendra le 15 juillet prochain.

Le soutien exprimé par des organisations comme la fondation Canadienne des maladies du cœur et de l’AVC, d’Anaphylaxie Canada ou de l’Association de Santé Publique du Canada est une reconnaissance au modèle de leadership impartial et collaboratif prôné par le Canada pour la présidence du Codex Alimentarius. C’est aussi une reconnaissance de nos acteurs nationaux de santé publique et de protection des consommateurs quant à l’importance du Codex à façonner et promouvoir la protection des consommateurs à l’échelle globale, en préservant la sécurité sanitaire et l’intégrité de l’apport alimentaire échangé à l’échelle internationale.

Three Consumer and health organisations express support for Canada’s Codex bid

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Consumer protection is at the heart of the Codex mandate. It includes protecting consumers’ health worldwide from potential food borne risks through the development of the corresponding science-driven standards. It also includes the protection of consumers from possible deception and fraud related to the composition, identity and labeling of food products traded internationally, through the relevant commodity-based and labeling standards.

I was touched by the support expressed by three (3) major national health and consumer organisations for my candidacy to seek the chair  position of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, at the upcoming July 2014 election.

The support of my nomination by organisations such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Anaphylaxis Canada or the Canadian Public Health Association is another testament to Canada’s commitment to providing collaborative and impartial leadership to Codex.  It is also recognition by these public health and consumer organisations of the importance of Codex in shaping a consumer protection agenda that supports public health and increased confidence in the safety and integrity of the food supply traded worldwide.

Great opportunity to work with colleagues from CCAFRICA at #CodexAlimentarius Colloquium

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I had the opportunity to take part in the CCAFRICA Codex colloquium co-organised by the US Department of Agriculture, the US Codex office, the Coordination for CCAFRICA, the African Union and the Government of South Africa from March 18-20th, 2014. Delegates from over 15 countries of the region participated in the colloquium which aimed to enhance communication amongst member countries of the region to discuss key Codex files, challenges and agenda items for selected upcoming Codex committees. CCAFRICAI had the opportunity to contribute to the colloquium program through a keynote introduction outlining my views on key Codex strengths and accomplishments, as well as what I consider being our organisation’s upcoming challenges. I also contributed to a panel discussion, engaging the colloquium participants on these same topics with an emphasis on specific challenges relevant to the African region. Some of the points discussed included:

–  the duality of focus on food safety and food security in the African region and the contribution that Codex standards may bring to support food security in the continent ;

–  the level of development of Codex structures in CCAFRICA countries and its impacts on the effective participation in Codex standard development; –  the availability of data from the region, in response to calls for data from Codex scientific advisory bodies;

–  the impacts of private standards versus Codex standards

–  countries’ ability to adopt Codex standards and challenges related to dissemination of information related to Codex standards, guidelines and codes of practice to all food stakeholders in the region. Some of the recommendations brought forward by participants included the need:

–  to strengthen Codex national structures in countries of the region,

–  to enhance engagement of academic organisations from the region to support opportunities for data collection that reflect the regional/African countries’ context in response to calls for data that support Codex standard development and,

–  to continue enhancing awareness of the importance of Codex and Codex standards among the leadership of countries of the region

Participants had also the opportunity to engage in facilitated discussions on agenda items currently identified for some of the upcoming Codex committees: Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP), Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) and Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). Delegates were able to exchange their views on these items with the purpose to help them prepare national positions

Meeting with Codex peers and colleagues from Kenya, Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda, Morocco and Senegal

Meeting with Codex peers and colleagues from Kenya, Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda, Morocco and Senegal

The colloquium provided me with an excellent opportunity to listen directly and learn from colleagues and peers from CCAFRICA countries about their concerns, challenges and areas of focus related to food safety and quality in general and specifically in the context Codex standard development. It was also an opportunity to engage on a bilateral level with delegates from Cameroon and the regional Coordinator for Africa, Senegal, Guinea, Morocco, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa.

I reiterate my thanks and appreciation to the Colloquium organizers and in particular to our gracious South-African hosts for a remarkable organisation.