The Codex Alimentarius Commission, which ended its latest session on 7 July 2006, adopted new standards on the maximum allowable levels of a number of key contaminants and food additives in order to protect the health of consumers. The standards set the maximum allowable amounts of contaminants such as lead and cadmium in certain foods with the aim of protecting consumers’ health. Additionally, newly adopted codes of practice will give guidance to governments on how to prevent and reduce dioxins and aflatoxins in food.

For example, lead can cause a wide range of disorders, including anaemia and hepatic and neurological disorders and food can be a major route of exposure. Cadmium can provoke kidney damage after long periods of exposure. Aflatoxins cause liver cancer and dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are both highly toxic as well as carcinogenic.

The new standards set out new, maximum limits for lead in fish, cadmium in rice, marine bivalve molluscs and cephalopods. New codes of practice for reducing aflatoxin contamination in Brazil nuts, and dioxin and dioxin-like PCB contamination in food and feed will hopefully help countries take measures to protect consumers from exposure to these substances.

What is the Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is the international food standards setting body of the United Nations, a joint venture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the longest standing example of interagency cooperation in the UN system. It has 173 Member States and one Member Organization (the European Community).

The Codex Alimentarius system presents an opportunity for all countries to join the international community in formulating and harmonizing food standards and ensuring their global implementation. Moreover, the Codex Alimentarius has relevance to the international food trade. With respect to the ever-increasing global market, in particular, the advantages of having universally uniform food standards for the protection of consumers are self-evident.

 More information about the Codex Alimentarius
 Current official standards