Codex Alimentarius Austriacus

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The Codex Alimentarius Austriacus ( Austrian Food Book, ÖLMB) is a collection of guiding principles in which the production, properties and characteristics of food are described. It is used for the publication of terms, definitions, research methods and assessment principles as well as guidelines for the "manufacture and marketing of goods". These can also be published in electronic form (Section 76 of the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act - LMSVG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 13/2006 as amended).

The Codex Alimentarius Austriacus pointed the way for the later Codex Alimentarius Europaeus , which in turn had a significant influence on the introduction of the worldwide Codex Alimentarius , today's standard work of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization .

In Germany there was a similar German food book in the 20th century . Since the 1960s there has been a comparable institution with the German Food Book and the German Food Book Commission (DLMBK) . It consists of a collection of “guiding principles” on the most important food groups.

Legal nature

From a legal point of view, the Austrian Food Book is to be classified as an "objectified expert report". It is not a legal provision in the strict sense. It was used by the jurisprudence as a reference, starting with the decision of the Supreme Court SSt 16/36, according to which the Codex has neither legal nor regulatory power, but the significance of an expert opinion towards the court (detailed SSt 38/36).

occurrence

A commission (Codex Commission) must be set up to advise the Federal Minister in charge on matters relating to all foodstuffs regulations, including hygiene guidelines, and to prepare the ÖLMB (Codex Alimentarius Austriacus). According to § 77 LMSVG, the members are made up of representatives in addition to the employees of the Federal Ministry for Health and Women (Austria) (BMGF) and the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety GmbH (AGES) or the food testing institutes of the federal states and the food experts authorized according to § 73 LMSVG

  • certain federal ministries:
    • Federal Ministry of Justice
    • Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management
    • Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection
    • Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy
    • Federal Ministry of Finance
  • of the federal states
  • the Austrian Chamber of Commerce
  • the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture
  • the Federal Chamber of Labor
  • of the Association for Consumer Information
  • of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions
  • the Association of Austrian Industrialists
  • of the Austrian Veterinary Association

and representatives of the relevant sciences together. Your activity is voluntary.

The Codex Commission works according to rules of procedure issued by the Federal Ministry for Health and Women in accordance with Section 77 (8) LMSVG.

For technical support and preparation of its resolutions, the Codex Commission sets up sub-commissions and working groups that draw up Codex chapters, guidelines, guidelines and recommendations with the participation of experts. After referring to the coordination committee of the plenary assembly, these are submitted to the Codex Commission for decision and published by the Federal Minister of Health. The task of the coordinating committee is to check drafts for overlaps with existing codex texts and for compliance with the relevant legal provisions.

history

The codex dates back to 1891. On October 12, 1891, a meeting of food chemists and microscopists took place in the Imperial and Royal Academy of Sciences , chaired by Ernst Ludwig Codex Alimentarius Austriacus should elaborate. The scientific commission established on October 13, 1891 for the creation of the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus created 21 drafts for Codex chapters up to its last meeting, which took place on April 15, 1898. This forum, which compiled the initial approach to the Codex, consisted of chemists and representatives of related sciences. However, no representatives of any economic or other interest groups were involved.

Due to increasing pressure from the economy, the Codex Commission was officially constituted in the Ministry of the Interior on April 10, 1907.

Between 1911 and 1917 the first edition of the ÖLMB (Codex Alimentarius Austriacus) was published in three volumes and comprised 55 chapters. The chairman of the Codex Commission was Hofrat Franz Wilhelm Dafert Ritter von Senseltimmer .

The Ministry of the Interior has formulated the goals of the Codex in the introductory decree. These are still valid today and were in the wording of the time: The Codex should

  1. serve as a source of information for producers and traders on the criteria according to which official controls are carried out;
  2. be a guideline for the state food testing institutes and the state bodies entrusted with food control in their procedures;
  3. for judges who make decisions under the Food Act as a non-binding, but informative technical aid.

Due to the strong changes in the movement of goods during and after the First World War , a new edition was initiated in 1921 by the Federal Ministry for Social Administration. It was very important for business to promote the new edition of the Codex. In the inflationary years 1923 and 1924, for example, the food industry even supported the Federal Ministry for Social Administration financially for the Codex activities after the financial basis for the Codex work was no longer guaranteed due to the austerity constraints of the state. The second edition comprised 48 chapters that were published between 1926 and 1938.

Since the annexation of Austria , German food law has been in force.

After the Second World War , the Codex Commission was reconstituted under the chairmanship of Franz Zaribnicky (chairman of the chair for milk hygiene at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna).

In 1950 the Food Act was amended so that a legal basis was created for the Codex and the Codex Commission for the first time. This amendment also regulates the composition of the commission. Chairman of the commission constituted in March 1951 was Hans Frenzel . The main task with the publication of the III. Edition of the ÖLMB started.

In 1953, by decree of the Federal Ministry for Social Administration, the food inspectors and research institutes were obliged to observe the Codex.

Between 1963 and 1967 the Codex Commission could not be convened because the three chambers (Chamber of Labor, Chamber of Agriculture and Chamber of Commerce) could not agree on the person of the one certified food chemist in the Codex Commission to whom they are legally entitled. During this time, the involved public was clearly shown the problems that can arise if the Codex Commission is no longer available as a platform for discussing difficulties that arise in food traffic.

With the 1975 Food Act, the tasks of the Codex Commission were expanded. In addition to her task of publishing the ÖLMB, she also became the advisory body of the responsible federal minister.

After Austria joined the EU (1995) and the associated adoption of EU food law provisions, the Codex was adapted accordingly. Due to the legal framework, a move was made to publish the Codex results in the form of guidelines, guidelines and recommendations.

The Codex still documents the “general public opinion” on food and has the legal meaning of an “objectified expert opinion” (OGH, April 9, 1991, ÖBl 1991, 232; OGH, May 13, 1997, ÖBl 1998, 17). It does not have any further significance.

After the entry into force of the LMSVG in 2006, with which the circle of representatives in the Codex Commission was again expanded, the fourth edition of the ÖLMB began.

The ÖLMB is continuously updated, and the existing chapters are revised with a view to the new legal situation.

Web links

literature

  • F. Vojir, E. Schübl: Part A. Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Codex Alimentarius Europaeus, Worldwide Codex, Historical Development . In: Festschrift 120 years Codex Alimentarius Austriacus (Austrian Food Book), 1891–2011 , Federal Ministry of Health (ed.), Pp. 29–166. New Scientific Publishing House, Vienna-Graz, 2011.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lustig, Johann: The legal meaning of the content of the 3rd edition of the ÖLMB published on the basis of § 23 LMG by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs and the legal status of the Codex Commission . ÖJZ (Austrian Legal Journal) 1954, p. 37
  2. ^ Koja, Friedrich : The legal nature of the food book . ÖJZ 1979, p. 385
  3. ↑ E. Schübl, F. Vojir: 120 years Codex Alimentarius Austriacus - the story of a successful path . Nutrition / Nutrition, Vol. 36 / No. 1,2012 (PDF; 103 kB), pp. 25–28
  4. ↑ Franz Vojíř, Erwin Schübl, Ibrahim Elmadfa: The Origins of a Global Standard for Food Quality and Safety: Codex Alimentarius Austriacus and FAO / WHO Codex Alimentarius . Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 82 (3), 2012, pp. 223-227. PMID 23258404
  5. ^ K. Smolka: The Austrian Food Book (ÖLMB) or the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus (CAA). The 100-year history of an idea moving through time . Nutrition / Nutrition, Vol.15 / No.9, 1991, pp. 540-545
  6. ↑ F. Vojíř, E. Schübl: Part A. Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Codex Alimentarius Europaeus, Worldwide Codex, Historical Development . In: Festschrift 120 years Codex Alimentarius Austriacus (Austrian Food Book), 1891–2011 , Federal Ministry of Health (ed.), Appendix 4, pp. 73–80. New Scientific Publishing House, Vienna-Graz, 2011
  7. ↑ F. Vojíř, E. Schübl: Part A. Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Codex Alimentarius Europaeus, Worldwide Codex, Historical Development . In: Festschrift 120 years Codex Alimentarius Austriacus (Austrian Food Book), 1891–2011 , Federal Ministry of Health (ed.), Appendix 11, pp. 89–93. New Scientific Publishing House, Vienna-Graz, 2011