FSSAI AND THE WORLD

“The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the administration of
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been designated as the nodal point for liaison
with the Codex, known as “National Codex Contact Point of India (NCCP)” (Discussed
Seperately)

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION

The Codex Alimentarius Commission(CAC)is an international food standards body established

jointly by the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization
(WHO)in May 1963 with the objective of protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair
practices in food trade.

The Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations as
reference standards for international trade and trade dispute settlement

Currently the Codex Alimentarius Commission has 189 Codex Members made up of 188
Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (The European Union). India became the
member of Codex Alimentarius in 1964.,
Codex Standards
These core Codex texts, typically deal with hygienic practice, labelling, contaminants,
additives, inspection & certification, nutrition and residues of veterinary drugs and
pesticides and apply horizontally to products and product categories.
What is meant by Codex Alimentarius?

The collection of food standards and related texts adopted by the Codex Alimentarius
Commission is known as the Codex Alimentarius.
The term "Codex Alimentarius" is Latin and means "food code”.

The term "food standards" is used in its generic sense and includes all categories of Codex texts,
i.e. standards, recommended codes of practice and guidelines.

What is Codex Alimentarius Commission?

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (commonly referred to as Codex) is the body established
to develop food standards under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Its
headquarters are in Rome. It coordinates input from member countries to develop and endorse
the standards that comprise the international food code.

What is the mandate of Codex?

The mandate of Codex is to establish international food standards to protect the health of
consumer and to ensure fair practices in the food trade, while promoting coordination of food
standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental
organizations.

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 How is a country benefitted by participation in Codex?

Participation in Codex, keep abreast of new or pending technological developments and assist
policy makers in building a sound national food control system. Moreover, country can also take
benefit of the risk assessment carried out by FAO/WHO Expert bodies in developing national
food control system.

What is Codex Secretariat?

The Codex Secretariat is run by staff designated by FAO and WHO, located at FAO headquarters
in Rome. It assists the Codex Alimentarius Commission in the implementation of the Joint
FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, reporting to the Director-Generals of FAO and WHO.

Are Codex Standards mandatory?

Codex texts are voluntary and non-binding. For harmonization, with regard to food safety, the
SPS Agreement has identified and chosen the standards, guidelines and recommendations
established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food additives, veterinary drug and
pesticide residues, contaminants, methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and
guidelines of hygienic practice. This means that Codex standards are considered scientifically
justified and are accepted as the benchmarks against which national measures and regulations
are evaluated.

Which World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements are of significance to Codex?

The two WTO agreements of most significance for international food trade are:
• the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures (SPS),
which concerns measures applied to protect human, animal and plant health; and
• theAgreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), which refers to technical regulations
and conformity assessment procedures and applies to all commodities,not just food.
Please be thorough with all the agreements under WTO

What is NCCP India?

NCCP India is the National Codex Contact Point of India. NCCP has been constituted by the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India for keeping liaison with the Codex Alimentarius and to
coordinate Codex activities in India.

Where is NCCP India located?

Ans. NCCP India is located at Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, FDA Bhawan, New
Delhi, India. (Next Building to our UPSC, When you stand in queue on interview date,
reporting at the entry gate; you will see it for sure)

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 Whatare the objective of NCCP India?
• To lay down the guidelines for preparation of national response or national viewpoint to
Codex matters and participation in Codex Meetings.
• To propose new work on standards or code of practice or guidelines at the Committee
Meetings.
• To coordinate and promote Codex activities in India in association with the National
Codex Committee

What is National Codex Committee and its functions?

The National Codex Committee has been constituted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India, chaired by the Chairperson, FSSAI for keeping liaison with the Codex Alimentarius
Commission.

Functions:
• To advise government on the implications of various food standardization, food quality and
safety issues which have arisen and related to the work undertaken by the CAC so that
national economic interest is taken into account, or considered, when international standards
are discussed;
• To provide important inputs to the government so as to assist in ensuring quality and safety
of food to the consumers, while at the same time maximizing the opportunities for
development of industry and expansion of international trade;

FSSAI and its role in INDIA will be covered in a separate article.

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