BACKGROUND OF CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION

The Codex Alimetarius Commission was established FAO and WHO in 1961 to develop International Food Standards, guidelines and recommendations to protect the health of consumer and to ensure fair practices in the food trade.  This collection of food standards (Codex Alimentarius /Food Code) has become the global reference point for consumer, food producers and processors, national food control agencies and the international trade.

WHAT IS CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

The second half of the nineteenth century saw the first general food laws adopted and basic food control systems put in place to monitor compliance.  During the same period, food chemistry came to be recognized as a reputable discipline, and the determination of the “purity” of a food was primarily based on the chemical parameters of simple food composition.  When harmful industrial chemicals were used to disguise the true colour or nature of food, the concept of “adulteration” was extended to include the use of hazardous chemicals in food.  Science had begun providing tools with which to disclose dishonest practices in the sale of food and to distinguish between safe and unsafe edible products.

WHY KENYA SHOULD BECOME INVOLVED IN CODEX

1. Growth in world food trade has created potential opportunities for     consumer to have greater access to a wider variety of foods.
2. As a result of the increase in food trade among nations, there is a greater      probability of diseases indigenous in one country to be transmitted to another country in which such diseases had not previously been prevalent.
3.  Codex is an international risk management body.
4. Participation in codex and use of codex standards assists policy –makers in building a sound national food control system, provide food of adequate quality and safety, and to protect consumers.
5. Codex forum is for developing standards and provides opportunities to   exchange information and share views on food safety and quality issues.
6. The World Trade Organization(WTO) agreements provide member countries that adopt codex standards as their national standards with a defense in situations where they are challenged by trading partners.  National measures based on codex standards are deemed necessary and thus in compliance with the Sanitary and Phytosanitary ( SPS) Agreement.
7. Countries, such as Kenya, that are members of World Trade Organization and   therefore are signatories to the SPS and Technical Barrier Trade (TBT) agreements are also expected to participate to the extent possible in the     standard-setting work of the codex Alimentarius commission.