Codex has revealed findings from its second member survey on usage and satisfaction with selected texts and how familiar countries are with certain documents.
The Codex Secretariat conducts an annual survey among all members to measure the use and impact of Codex texts.
The study focused on the general standard for food additives, guidelines for nutrition labeling, recommended analytical and sampling methods, and guidelines on performance criteria for analytical methods for the determination of pesticide residues in food and feed.
There were 131 responses from Codex members in 2023, for one overall response rate of 69 percent. This is higher than the response rate of 52 percent in 2022.
The results showed that 83 percent of members were familiar with the general standard for food additives, 78 percent with the nutrition labeling guidelines and 71 percent with the recommended analytical and sampling methods. Only 56 percent were aware of the guidelines on performance criteria for analytical methods for the determination of pesticide residues in food and feed. Nine participants indicated that they were unfamiliar with all four of these texts.
Usefulness and satisfaction
More than 80 percent of respondents felt that Codex texts were largely or extremely useful in meeting their country’s priority food safety and quality needs.
The responses show that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) extracted more knowledge from Codex texts than high-income countries (HICs). About 80 percent of LMIC respondents said they gained a lot or quite a bit of knowledge from the texts. In contrast, 70 percent of HIC respondents indicated that they had acquired only “somewhat” new knowledge from Codex texts. HICs may have greater capacity to undertake their own risk assessment and standard setting.
There is less satisfaction with the currency of Codex texts compared to their authority and credibility. This indicates that while the texts are respected for their content and reliability, members would welcome a faster approval process. However, there is a recognized trade-off between authority, credibility and timeliness.
About 80 percent of LMIC respondents said they use Codex texts “a lot” or “quite a bit” as a basis for informing food legislation, policies, regulations, programs or practices. In contrast, more than 70 percent of HIC respondents use the texts ‘somewhat’ or ‘very little’ as a starting point.
Nearly 70 percent of LMICs use Codex texts ‘completely or largely’ to support national food control systems. However, almost 60 percent of HICs use them “somewhat” to support such systems.
A total of 70 percent of LMICs felt that Codex texts were “mostly” or “completely” useful in raising awareness of food safety and quality issues and evidence-based interventions and recommendations. Overall, more than 60 percent of HIC respondents found the texts somewhat useful in this regard.
Things to improve
Many LMIC respondents believe that Codex texts are “mostly” or “somewhat” effective in helping their countries access international markets for food products.
The main barriers hindering the application of Codex texts at national level were a lack of resources, a lack of local implementation capacity, the duration of national implementation and poor awareness of the Codex among national stakeholders.
To address these issues, there is a need for high-level political commitment in food safety and quality management, and the adoption and implementation of standards. Demonstrating the benefits of food control systems and the implementation of consumer health and trade standards can help secure support.
World Food Day
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently celebrated World Food Day at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference.
The event brought together 3,000 experts from different countries, including a panel of three speakers from different FAO offices. The conference, held from October 21 to 23, was themed ‘Foresight in Food Safety’ and discussed some of the challenges facing the food sector.
The meeting highlighted tools to improve food safety, including AI-powered inspection technologies, predictive analytics and other emerging tools designed to manage future risks. The sessions focused on topics ranging from genetically modified foods to the future of food testing and safety protocols.
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