The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, established by FAO and WHO in 1963. It develops harmonised international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect the health of the consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. The Commission also promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
India has been elected as the Regional Coordinator for Asia for the period of two years (2015-17) and will host the 20th Session of the CCASIA in September 2016.
From 26th to 30th September 2016, experts and policy makers from 23 member countries of the Asian region will gather in“The Lalit”, New Delhi (the heart of India) for the 20th session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCASIA20).
The meeting of the physical Working Groups on the Proposed Draft Regional Standard for Laver Products and the Proposed Draft Regional Code of Hygienic Practice for Street-Vended Foods will be held at the same venue on Sunday 25 September 2016 from 09.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 17.00, respectively.
FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY SITUATION IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE REGION
Introduction and Background 1. Food safety needs and priorities are changing rapidly in the context of globalization of the food chain, changing patterns of food consumption, new technological advancement and growing awareness of food safety among consumers. This document summarizes the responses to the questionnaire on critical and emerging food safety and quality issues, and includes an initial analysis of the data. Critical issues are those that are the most pressing ones, and as such need to be addressed and considered as priorities. They can be known issues that are actually present/already occurring or even recurring for some time. They can also be completely new or emerging. Emerging issues are those that are new, unexpected, or can cause change in the status quo. Identification of emerging issues will help to provide proactive guidance and support to countries in addressing prospective issues that could be of regulatory significance. 2. The 70th Session of CCEXEC noted the importance to identify emerging issues, and to define priorities among them1 . It was also noted that the Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) could play a role in this process. CCEXEC, and the 38th session of the CAC requested FAO and WHO, in collaboration with the Codex Secretariat and the Regional Coordinators, to develop a set of questions on needs and priorities in the regions; prepare an analysis of the information collected for presentation at the next round of the RCCs sessions.
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