Codex Nutrition Committee announces prioritisation process to help workload
Simon Pettman, Executive Director of IADSA
The Codex Alimentarius Committee on Nutrition met last month to discuss regulation of the global market for health products, and has agreed to develop a new prioritisation process to address its excessive workload.
The Committee expressed concern about its ability to meet the demands placed on it by countries seeking support or clarification in relation to the regulation of the global trade in nutrition products.
Simon Pettman, executive director of IADSA (International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations), said: “With nutrition now arguably the single most important issue globally, it’s little surprise that the Codex Nutrition Committee is seeing an increase in demands on its time and resources. The resulting workload it currently faces is clearly challenging, and the prioritisation process will ensure that the most important matters can be dealt with through to completion.”
To help members build regulatory frameworks that align globally, IADSA has published a new guide on how Codex standards have been developed in relation to food supplements and the ways in which they apply. Written by IADSA experts, and available in English, Spanish and French, the 72-page e-book is available to download free of charge from the IADSA website.
Mr. Pettman added: “The guide is an efficient, easy to use tool for governments and other groups who want a means to quickly get the information they need about how Codex applies to food supplements.”
Codex is the global body that develops food standards and guidelines that all its 189 members should adhere to. Where a barrier to free trade arises, a Codex measure is taken as a key reference point in adjudicating who is right and who is wrong.
