Prepared by the Secretariat of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
This paper, prepared for the IPPC Working Group Meeting on the Concept of a Commodity Standard, provides an overview of the work of Codex on commodity standards.
Introduction The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was established in the 1960s by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to develop international food standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations (collectively known as the “Codex Alimentarius”) to protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair practices in the food trade.
The CAC is an intergovernmental body with a membership of 185 countries and one regional economic integration organization (as of June 2015). In addition, observers from international intergovernmental organizations (e.g. OIE, WTO) and international non-governmental organizations (i.e. scientific organizations, food industry, food trade and consumer associations) may attend sessions of the Commission and of its subsidiary bodies. An Executive Committee, six FAO/WHO (regional) Coordinating Committees and a Secretariat assist the Commission in administering its work programme and other related activities.
The work of the Codex Alimentarius is divided between three basic types of committees (see Fig. 1):
Twelve general subject (horizontal) committees which deal with general principles, hygiene, veterinary drugs, pesticides, food additives, contaminants, labelling, methods of analysis and sampling, nutrition and import/export inspection and certification systems;
Twelve commodity (vertical) committees that deal with a specific type of food class or group, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and dairy products, fats and oils, or fish and fish products; and
Ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Forces (whose number is variable) that are established to deal with specific issues within a limited time frame.
Fig.1 – Structure of the Codex Alimentarius Commission