The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Under its Rules of Procedure, the Commission is empowered to establish two kinds of subsidiary bodies:
-
Codex Committees, which prepare draft standards for submission to the Commission;
-
Coordinating Committees, through which regions or groups of countries coordinate food standards activities in the region, including the development of regional standards.
Coordinating Committees
Coordinating Committees play an invaluable role in ensuring that the
work of the Commission is responsive to regional interests and to
the concerns of developing countries. They normally meet at two-year
intervals, with a good representation from the countries of their
respective regions. The country that chairs the Coordinating Committee
is also the Regional Coordinator for the region concerned. There are
six Coordinating Committees, one each for the following regions:
-
Africa
-
Asia
-
Europe
-
Latin America and the Caribbean
-
Near East
-
North America and the Southwest Pacific
