The is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations relating to food, food production, food labeling, and food safety.

History and governance

Its name is derived from the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus. Its texts are developed and maintained by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), a body established in early November 1961 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Joined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June 1962, the CAC held its first session in Rome in October 1963.

The Commission's main goals are to protect the health of consumers, to facilitate international trade, and to ensure fair practices in the international food trade.

The CAC is an intergovernmental organization: the member states of the FAO and WHO send delegations to the CAC. As of 2021, there were 189 members of the CAC (188 member countries plus one member organization, the European Union) and 239 Codex observers (59 intergovernmental organizations, 164 non-governmental organizations, and 16 United Nations organizations).

The CAC develops food standards on scientific evidence furnished by the scientific committees of the FAO and WHO; the oldest of these, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), was established in 1956 and predates the establishment of the CAC itself. Many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements refer to the Codex Alimentarius, adopting it as a point of reference.

The Codex Alimentarius is published in the six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. Not all texts are available in all languages.

As of 2017, the CAC had a total of 78 guidelines, 221 commodity standards, 53 codes of practice, and 106 maximum levels for contaminants of food (of which 18 covered contaminants). The proposal was agreed, but protests halted its implementation. Among the many issues discussed were the Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements, which were adopted during the meeting as new global safety guidelines: The guidelines state that "people should...be encouraged to select a balanced diet from food before considering any vitamin and mineral supplement. In cases where the intake from the diet is insufficient or where consumers consider their diet requires supplementation, vitamin and mineral food supplements serve to supplement the daily diet."

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has said that the Guidelines call "for labelling that contains information on maximum consumption levels of vitamin and mineral food supplements". The WHO has also said that the Guidelines "ensure that consumers receive beneficial health effects from vitamins and minerals".

Criticism

The 2003 International Commission of the Future of Food and Agriculture, convened by Italian politician Claudio Martini and chaired by anti-globalization activist Vandana Shiva, issued several manifestos, including the Manifesto on the Future of Food, which contended that "bureaucracies like the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Codex Alimentarius have codified policies designed to serve the interests of global agribusiness above all others, while actively undermining the rights of farmers and consumers".

Conspiracy theories

The Codex Alimentarius has been the subject of various conspiracy theories. These theorize that it is an agenda for population control, an anti-alternative medicine Big Brother initiative, or a process for a World Government to establish eugenics.

See also

  • FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
  • Food Chemicals Codex
  • Food additive (INS and E numbers)

References

  • Official Codex Alimentarius Commission website