Codex Alimentarius

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The Codex Alimentarius (from Latin alimentarius for food and codex for directory, document) is a collection of standards for food safety and product quality of the United Nations , which were first published in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) was issued. The Codex coordinates the fair trade in food on an international level and ensures the protection of the health of consumers with the help of uniform standards.

Forerunners were the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus and the Codex Alimentarius Europaeus .

Overview

The Codex Alimentarius (CA), founded in 1963, is now supported by 189 members, who in turn consist of 188 states including the countries of the European Union . Together they form the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the supreme steering and decision-making body, which is supported by 30 subordinate bodies. The commission is accompanied by 240 observers divided into 56 intergovernmental organizations , 168 non-governmental organizations and 16 UN agencies. With the accession of the EU in 2003, its member states are also part of the CAC, which updates the Codex. This has greatly increased the influence of the 28 member states in this organization. The member states can also coordinate their positions in the bodies and vote together.

In addition to procedures for ensuring food safety (e.g. setting up a HACCP system or carrying out random checks), the Codex Alimentarius also contains product-specific standards that define manufacturing processes, identify microbiological risks and regulate the labeling of goods for the information of the end consumer .

The importance of the Codex Alimentarius increased as a result of the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) . This monitors a large number of different trade agreements, including two agreements for the food trade. One of these trade agreements is the SPS agreement ( Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ), which includes sanitary and phytosanitary measures in the food sector and is based on the provisions of the Codex. The CA standards for the TBT ( Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ), which aims to prevent technical barriers to trade , are also of central importance. By means of this convention, consumer protection measures can be taken, for example to protect against food fraud.

Content

General regulations

  • Food labeling (especially for organic and GMO foods)
  • Auxiliary materials
  • Limit values ​​for toxins and food supplements
  • Food supplements (vitamins, minerals, etc.)
  • Agricultural and livestock residues
  • Methods for risk analysis of biotechnical products (plants, microorganisms, allergens)
  • Food hygiene including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
  • Analysis methods and sampling
  • Feed additives and storage

Special regulations

  • Meat products
  • Fish and fishery products including water crops
  • milk and milkproducts
  • Dietetic foods and infant foods
  • Fresh and processed vegetables and fruits and fruit juices
  • Grains and Derivatives, Dried Legumes
  • Fats, oils and derived products
  • Various foods (chocolate, sugar, honey, mineral water)

Promotion of developing countries

A separate project is the promotion of developing countries through the Codex Trust Fund (CTF). The program, previously known as CTF 1, ended after 12 years in 2015. Initially, the WHO and FAO Trust Fund aimed to enable developing countries to participate in Codex Alimentarius meetings. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) , among others, has provided 50,000 euros annually since 2003. This funding doubled thanks to the new CTF 2 program launched in 2016. The fund's budget is expected to increase to a volume of US $ 3.5 million in the coming years. The new concept focuses more on the recipient countries' own contributions and aims to harmonize cooperation.

Maximum residue levels

Codex general maximum residue levels (are English Maximum Residue Limits MRLs) for pesticides established.

In the example of grapes, however, these differ greatly from those in the European Union:

Active ingredient Codex EU Japan United States
Captan 25th 0.02 5 25th
Chlorpyrifos 0.5 0.5 1 0.1
Dimethoate (prohibited) 1 0.02 1 1
Endosulfan (prohibited) 1 0.05 1 2
Fludioxonil 2 5 5 2
Myclobutanil 1 1 1 1
Spinosad 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Tebuconazole 6th 2 10 5

criticism

Basically, the Codex Alimentarius is just a collection of international food standards that was developed by the commission set up for this purpose. The CA is therefore not legally binding , but always makes recommendations. However, the standards set are certainly used by the WTO as a decision-making aid in trade disputes and thus give rise to a special weight. The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization , in particular, regarded the Codex as binding in that it represented a largely secured collection of views and insights into the state of the art in related science. Accordingly, a large majority of states follow the specifications and stipulations contained therein, while the more demanding way of obtaining your own, deviating knowledge and deriving national regulations from it, is used less often.

The creation of the supranational regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 was significantly influenced by the international Codex Alimentarius standards. This regulation is binding for the member states of the European Union .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Codex Alimentarius. Bavarian State Institute for Agriculture, accessed on December 2, 2016 .
  2. ^ CODEX Alimentarius: Members. In: www.fao.org. Retrieved December 10, 2018 .
  3. ↑ CODEX Alimentarius: Observers. In: www.fao.org. Retrieved December 2, 2016 .
  4. ↑ http://www.bmel.de/DE/Ernaehrung/SichereLebensmittel/Codex-Alimentarius/_Texte/CodexArbeitweise.html
  5. ↑ BMEL - Codex Alimentarius - Codex Alimentarius - scope, structure and history. In: www.bmel.de. Retrieved December 2, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b BMEL - Codex Alimentarius - promoting the cooperation of developing countries in international food standards. In: www.bmel.de. Retrieved December 2, 2016 .
  7. ^ Pesticide Residues in Food and Feed
  8. ↑ http://www.codexalimentarius.net/pestres/data/commodities/details.html?id=113
  9. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/sanco_pesticides/public/?event=substance.historic
  10. ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original from December 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mrldatabase.com
  11. ↑ EUFIC: What is the Codex Alimentarius? (EUFIC). (No longer available online.) In: www.eufic.org. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016 ; accessed on December 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eufic.org
  12. ↑ Codex Alimentarius ( Memento of the original dated December 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Bavarian State Institute for Agriculture, no year, p. 8/9 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lfl.bayern.de