GOVT. ACT,LAWS & REGULATIONS RELATED TO A.H

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

Team Pashudhan Praharee

February 12, 2025

846

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

Harneet Kour, Parul Rana, Amandeep Goyal and Raman Malik

Animal Nutrition Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal

INTRODUCTION

“CODEX ALIMENTARIUS is about safe, good food for everyone – everywhere”

International food trade has existed for thousands of years but until not too long-ago food was mainly produced, sold and consumed locally. Over the last century the amount of food traded internationally has grown exponentially, and a quantity and variety of food never before possible travels the globe today. Codex Alimentarius play a vital role in determining standard for quality food all over the world. The Codex Alimentarius are the international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice which contribute to the safety, quality and fairness of this international food trade. Consumers can trust the safety and quality of the food products they buy and importers can trust that the food they ordered will be in accordance with their specifications. Since its foundation in 1963, jointly by the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Codex system has evolved in an open, transparent and inclusive way to meet emerging challenges.

The term “Codex Alimentarius” is Latin and means “food code”. Codex standards are international food texts, i.e., standards, codes of practice, codes of hygienic practice, guidelines and other recommendations, established to protect the health of the consumers and to ensure fair practices in the food trade. The collection of food standards and related texts adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission is known as the Codex Alimentarius.

Purpose of the Codex Alimentarius

The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner. These food standards and related texts aim at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade. The publication of the Codex Alimentarius is intended to guide and promote the elaboration and establishment of definitions and requirements for foods to assist in their harmonization and in doing so to facilitate international trade.

Scope of the Codex Alimentarius

The Codex Alimentarius includes standards for all the principal foods, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, for distribution to the consumer. The Codex Alimentarius includes provisions in respect of food hygiene, food additives, residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, contaminants, labelling and presentation, methods of analysis and sampling, and import and export inspection and certification.

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION (CAC)

The Codex Alimentarius Commission or CAC is the body responsible for all matters regarding the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme
Membership of the Commission is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO and WHO which are interested in international food standards
The Commission meets in regular session once a yearalternating between Geneva and Rome
Currently the Codex Alimentarius Commission has 189 Codex Members made up of 188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (The European Union).
The Commission works in the six UN official languages

CODEX STANDARDS

Codex standards and related texts are voluntary in nature. They need to be translated into national legislation or regulations in order to be enforceable(do not have binding effect on national food legislation). However, after the WTO Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations have been recognized as the international benchmark for food safety, national regulations and Codex standards are deemed to meet the requirement of the SPS Agreement. Codex standards, guidelines and other recommendations may also be used as a reference in case of a food trade dispute.

Types of Codex standards

General Standards, Guidelines and Codes of Practice

These are the core Codex texts and apply to all products and product categories. These texts typically deal with hygienic practice, labelling, additives, inspection & certification, nutrition and residues of veterinary drugs and pesticides.

Table 1. General Subject Committees

CCCF	Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods
CCFA	Codex Committee on Food Additives
CCFH	Codex Committee on Food Hygiene
CCFICS	Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems
CCFL	Codex Committee on Food Labelling
CCGP	Codex Committee on General Principles
CCMAS	Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling
CCNFSDU	Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
CCPR	Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues
CCRVDF	Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods

2. Specific Commodity standards

Codex commodity standards refer to a specific product.Codex commodity standards define the physical and chemical characteristics of nearly 200 traded products – from apples and wheat to frozen fish and bottled water. Although increasingly, Codex now develops standards for food groups i.e., one general standard for fruit juices and nectars as opposed to one per fruit.

Table 2. Commodity Committees

CCFFP	Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products
CCFFV	Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
CCFO	Codex Committee on Fats and Oils
CCSCH	Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs

Nature of Codex Standards

Codex standards and related texts are not a substitute for, or alternative to national legislation. Every country’s law and administrative procedures contain provisions with which it is essential to comply.A Codex standard for any food or foods should be drawn up in accordance with the format for Codex Commodity Standards. There are 347 standards till date.

Revision of Codex Standards

The Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies are committed to revision as necessary of Codex standards and related texts to ensure that they are consistent with and reflect current scientific knowledge and other relevant information.

Development of Codex Standard

Like all other aspects of the Commission’s work, the procedures for preparing standards are well defined, open and transparent.

Making proposal:A national government or a subsidiary committee of the Commission usually makes the proposal for a standard to be developed which is reviewed.
Elaboration of the standard: a discussion paper is made that outlines what the proposed standard is expected to achieve, and then a project document that indicates the time frame for the work and its relative priority.
Conclusion – Standards can take several years to develop. Once adopted by the Commission, a Codex standard is added to the Codex Alimentarius and published on the official web site.

THE CODEX REGIONS

There are 6 Codex regions each represented by a joint FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee. These are Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, North East and North America & South West Pacific. Each committee is responsible for defining the problems and needs of the region concerning food standards and food control. India comes under CCASIA and is member of Codex Alimentarius since 1964.

The Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCASIA)

The Coordinating Committee for Asia was established at the 11th Meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commissionheld in Rome, Italy, in July 1976
Its first meeting was held in New Delhi (India) in January 1977
The regional coordinator is China which operates from within the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment

DIFFERENT ROLES OF CODEX

The Role of Codex in Animal Feed

Recognizing the importance of animal feeding to the production of safe food, Codex has established two dedicated Task Forces, providing guidance to governments on good animal feeding practice and on the conduct of risk assessment of feed. Work relevant to animal feed is carried out in relation to contaminants, residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, food hygiene and inspection and certification.Codex work on animal feeding only addresses food safety and does not cover those issues of animal welfare, other than food safety related animal health issues.

The Role of Codex in AMR

In recognizing the need for a more general and multidisciplinary response to deal with AMR, in 2006 Codex established a first Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance to develop science-based guidance for managing risks to human health associated with the presence in food and feed and transmission of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms by food. A second Task Force, recently established in response to the increased global attention to serious threat of AMR to public health. Other Codex texts on veterinary drugs and their residues, food hygiene, animal feed, also contribute to tackle AMR by preventing the development and minimizing the transmission of AMR through the food chain.

3. The Role of Codex in Nutrition and Labelling

Codex also provides guidance on general labelling of foods and the health or nutrient claims producers make on labels, with terms such as “low fat”, “high fat” etc. Codex guidance ensures that consumers understand what they are buying and that “it is what it says it is”.

The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary uses (CCNFSDU): prevention of nutritional deficiencies and diet-related non-communicable diseases.
The Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL): nutrition information on food packages enabling consumers to make informed food choices.

Role of Codex in Contaminants

The Codex maximum level (ML) for a contaminant in a food or feed commodity is the maximum concentration of that substance recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to be legally permitted in that commodity. The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) establishes and endorses permitted maximum levels or guideline levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed. It also prepares priority lists of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).

Role of Codex in Pesticides

To protect consumer health, most countries have maximum legal limits for pesticide residues in foods. Trade difficulties can arise when limits differ between countries.The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) is responsible for establishing Codex Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticide residues in specific food items or in groups of food or feed that move in international trade.

Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF)

FAO/WHO ID No:	CX-730
Reference:	CX/RVDF
Terms of Reference:	(a) to determine priorities for the consideration of residues of veterinary drugs in foods; (b) to recommend maximum levels of such substances; (c) to develop codes of practice as may be required; and, (d) to consider methods of sampling and analysis for the determination of veterinary drug residues in foods.
Host:	United States of America

Codex Veterinary Drug Residue in Food Online Database

CCRVDF also determines Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs (latest updated in 2018). In the database a user can obtain information on Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and Risk Management Recommendations (RMRs) for residues of veterinary drugs in foods. The database also allows to search for veterinary drugs within a functional class.Updated to the 41^st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (July 2018).

Table 3. MRL of various Veterinary Drugs in Meat by CAC (2018)

Antibiotic	MRL (ug/kg)	Antibiotic	MRL (ug/kg)
Benzyl penicillin & Ampicillin	50	Neomycin	500
Amoxycillin	50	Sulphonamide	100
Oxacillin	30	Trimethoprim	50
Cloxacillin	30	Spiramycin	200
Dicloxacillin	30	Tylosin	50
Tetracycline	200	Erythromycin	100
Oxytetracycline	200	Quinolone	75
Chlortetracycline	200	Polymyxin	50
Streptomycin	600	Ceftiofur	100
Dihydrostreptomycin	600	Cefquinome	20
Gentamicin	100	Doxycycline	100