Page 49 - Trade and Food Standards

Public health and food safety
Food safety must therefore be high on the public health agenda, especially for developing countries, where food safety can be one of the most significant challenges for access to export markets.
Against this backdrop, investing in the capacity to apply standards has clear advantages in terms of public health, trade, market access and agricultural development. The ability of a country to take advantage of global agreements, such as the SPS and TBT Agreements, is linked to its understanding of how standards are set and applied. If a country participates actively in Codex, then it is able to leverage a global community of
ICN2 Framework for Action
The “Framework for Action” report from the
Second International Conference on Nutrition
(ICN2, Rome 2014) recommends building the necessary national infrastructure so that implementation of international standards can contribute to food safety at the domestic level.
ICN2 Recommendation 54 (Rome, 2014)
“Actively take part in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission on nutrition and food safety, and implement, as appropriate, internationally adopted standards at the national level.”
scientific expertise. Access to this network of world-class knowledge and experience allows a country to apply the best possible scientifically sound standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect public health and thereby its entire population.
Unsafe food is a major social and development challenge and public health cannot be improved if the food reaching the consumer is not safe. Food safety must therefore be high on the public health agenda, especially for developing countries, where food safety can be one of the most significant challenges for access to export markets.
A standard for oregano?
In 2017, the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs began working to see if it is possible to develop a single draft standard for all products traded globally under the name “oregano”. In the two largest producing regions, the product comes from different botanical families. Some countries believe this distinction should be preserved as the products have different physical and chemical characteristics that consumers should
be aware of. Others feel that excluding one product from a Codex standard could have a negative effect on trade and further implications for the social, environmental and economic strength of the region.
Codex provides the tools and environment for all major producers and exporters, together with stakeholder groups from industry and consumer associations, to work together to reach consensus.
Source: Codex Secretariat
Part 2. The benefit of taking part 37
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