The current Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting’s decisions have been released. Codex is a joint initiative by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization. The body met for a meeting in Rome in November 2022. This time the report is delayed due to a lot of comments on the draft report and to ensure that everyone has accepted the final version.

The report includes guidelines to manage biological foodborne outbreaks and focused on building African food safety laws. The document will help countries determine their capacity needs, and encourage wider use of Codex standards. Several governments are using them to update national legislation. The goal is to aid in the efficient management and communication of outbreaks in order to minimize the risk. They were created to be used in conjunction with Codex texts on risk analysis and national food control systems. They are directed at both authorities in charge of addressing outbreaks and food enterprises.

Maximum limits of aflatoxins in numerous food categories, including cereals and cereal-based items such as infant and young children diets, were established. However, a few countries were opposed to the proposal because the restrictions were not in accordance with national laws or because they should be as low as reasonably practicable. Around 50 countries expressed reservations about cereal-based infant food, including Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, the European Union, Ghana, Iraq, Morocco, Norway, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

Participants agreed on a code of practice to avoid and reduce cadmium contamination in cocoa beans, as well as a maximum cadmium level in cocoa powder. Notwithstanding the fact that the EU, Cameroon, Norway, Switzerland, and Russia all disagreed with the latter. A vote was held following a vigorous debate on draught maximum residue limits (MRLs) for the growth promoter zilpaterol hydrochloride in cow liver, kidney, and muscle. The problem has been in Codex for ten years. The EU, UK, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China were among the members who spoke out strongly against the MRLs; however, nations such as the US, Chile, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe backed the MRLs ahead of prospective acceptance at the next Codex Alimentarius Commission conference.

By using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, a decision tree has been introduced to the Codex’s general principles of food hygiene. HACCP is used as a tool for stakeholders in the production chain to define critical control points (CCP). It is made up of four questions that must be answered at each stage of the process if a hazard has been recognized.

Maximum amounts of methylmercury in orange and pink cusk eel, as well as lead in cereal-based diets for infants and young children, white and refined sugar, maize and maple syrups, honey, and sugar-based candies, have been increased. Principles and standards for the use of remote audit and verification in regulatory frameworks were added in new work. The study of maximum lead levels in fresh eggs, dried garlic, and molasses was halted. Participants also discussed the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s 60th anniversary in 2023, as well as World Food Safety Day in June, which is dedicated to the theme of standards.