49th Session of Codex Committee on Food Additives held in Macao
The 49thSession of Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) commences in Macao today (March 21). Over 260 representatives from 50 member countries, 1 member organisation (European Union) and 32 international organisations participated in the session this year. It is the first time that the session is held in Macao since China has started serving as the host country of CCFA.
Organised by National Health and Family Planning Commission, undertaken by National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment and co-organised by Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) of Macao SAR, the 49thSession of CCFA takes place in Macao for 5 days (March 20 to 24). The officiating guests, Jin Xiaotao, Vice-Minister of National Health and Family Planning Commission and Chan Hoi Fan, Secretary for Administration and Justice of Macao SAR, delivered their speeches at the opening ceremony of the session.
China sent representatives from National Health and Family Planning Commission, Ministry of Agriculture, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong, etc. to participate in the session. With the support from National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, the Food Safety Centre of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Institute (IACM) joined the session as member of the China delegation. The participants carried out in-depth discussions and exchange on the Codex General Standard for Food Additives, the numbering system and quality, specifications and standards, along with other issues. After completion of the session, the report of the 49thSession of CCFA (including conclusions of discussions and recommendations) will be submitted to the 40th Session of Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for review and approval in July this year.
Food safety is currently one of the challenges faced by the whole world. The CAC, jointly established by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization, is the only intergovernmental organisation that coordinates the food regulations and technical standards among member countries. It is committed to safeguarding the health of consumers in countries and proactively maintaining the fairness of international food trade, which offers support and exercises important influence on the promotion of food safety management in countries worldwide. China has been responsible for organising and convening the relevant sessions since it was elected as the host country of CCFA in 2006, contributing to safeguarding the health of consumers around the globe and promoting international food safety.
Food safety involves multiple areas and professional techniques. The combined efforts from various parties are required to jointly build a good environment of food safety. The Macao SAR Government attaches great importance to food safety efforts. In addition to reinforcing continuously the supervision of food safety in Macao, it has proactively participated in different types of international conferences on food safety, grasping international and regional information and updates on food safety through various platforms. This helps in strengthening network construction and technical connections in food safety, constantly raising local technique and experiences and reinforcing the efforts in safeguarding food safety in Macao. In the future, the IACM will continue to be active in joining international conferences in food safety.
