The Codex Alimentarius is the international organization created by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) to develop food standards, guidelines and other texts under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade. As a nongovernmental organization with observer status IFT participates in meetings of select Codex committees and task forces.
Codex Meeting Reports
IFT Codex Alimentarius Newsletters (Members Only, Login Required)
This newsletter will be your resource for staying up to date on Codex developments, primarily those of the Commission, its subsidiary bodies in which IFT is involved, and related news and resources of FAO and WHO.
With the mandate of raising levels of nutrition, improving agricultural productivity, bettering the lives of rural populations, and contributing to the growth of the world economy, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation serves as a knowledge network, shares policy expertise, provides a neutral meeting forum for nations, and brings technical knowledge to the field.
FAO Resources
As the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations, the World Health Organization provides leadership on global health matters, shapes the health research agenda, sets norms and standards, articulates evidence-based policy options, provides technical support to countries, and monitors and assesses health trends.
Resources:
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is an international expert scientific committee administered jointly by FAO and WHO. JECFA serves as an independent scientific committee which performs risk assessments on food additives, contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food and provides advice for the CAC and its committees.
JECFA Meeting Report
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is a scientific risk assessment body of the European Union, providing scientific advice on food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health, plant protection, and plant health. Select reports are provided below.
Editorials
Guidance Documents
News Stories
Reasoned Opinions
Scientific Opinions
Scientific Reports
Statements
Technical Reports
The Food Chemicals Codex (FFC) is a compendium of internationally recognized standards for the authenticity, purity and identity of food ingredients. The compendium features about 1,100 monographs, including food-grade chemicals, processing aids, foods, flavoring agents, vitamins, and functional food ingredients, as well as information on topics such as adulteration, analytical methods and more.
The FCC plays a key role in safeguarding commerce and public health by providing essential criteria and analytical methods to authenticate and determine the quality of food ingredients. FCC standards are beneficial to all stakeholders in the food industry as agreed standards between suppliers and manufacturers aid in distinguishing genuine products from inferior or adulterated ingredients and substances, thereby helping to make the food supply chain safer and assuring consumers of the quality of the food products they consume.
FCC Resources
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops and publishes international standards relating to topics, including food ingredients, food safety and quality, and nanotechnology, through a network of national member standards institutes of 162 countries.
ISO Resources:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) is an international organization that works to build better policies for better lives. Its goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity, and well-being for all. Together with governments, policy makers, and citizens, the OECD works on establishing international norms.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CIFA) highest priority is mitigating risks to food safety, with the health and safety of Canadians the driving force behind the design and development of its programs. In collaboration and partnership with industry, consumers, and federal, provincial, and municipal organizations, CFIA works towards protecting Canadians from preventable health risks related to food and zoonotic diseases.
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a statutory authority in the Australian Government Health Portfolio. FSANZ develops food standards for Australia and New Zealand.
Health Canada is responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health, ensuring that high-quality health services are accessible, and working to reduce health risks.
The U.K. Food Standards Agency is an independent government department working across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing changes to its export listing procedures for dairy and infant formula firms seeking to export their products to China.
The latest research from Mintel shows that after several years of growth, the foodservice industry is expected to decline by up to 30% from 2019 to 2020, following nationwide dine-in bans/restrictions, restaurant closures, job losses, and lowered consumer confidence.
The FDA is announcing $1.5 million of continued funding, in the form of cooperative agreements, to the University of Arkansas Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative and the National Farmers Union to enhance food safety under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
According to Innova Market Insights’ COVID-19 Consumer Survey (conducted in March 2020), in China, India, and Indonesia, personal concerns center on health, personal income, and the availability of healthcare and products to buy.
Scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have identified a new way to detect the presence of live African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) that minimizes the need for samples from live animals and provides easier access to veterinary labs that need to diagnose the virus.
In the food industry, botulinum toxin is associated with a severe form of food poisoning caused by improperly preserved food. Researchers have developed a technology that addresses the role of botulinum toxin in both food and cosmetic applications.
Before the emergence of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders, one of the biggest complaints of busy individuals was not having time to prepare and cook balanced meals. A new appliance shows promise in solving that problem—for those who can afford it.
Researchers from Towson University developed a method for determining where a particular chocolate was produced using its chemical “fingerprint,” with the hopes that it could one day be used to trace the chocolate back to the farm that grew the beans.
For as long as humans have been growing food crops, pests and pathogens have been attacking them. For one fungal pathogen, scientists in the United Kingdom have figured out a way to use its own biology to prevent it from destroying crops.
