Codex

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 and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Membership is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO/WHO, and currently comprises of 188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (The European Union) (as of 2024). International non-governmental organisations, such as consumer, academic or industry bodies, may attend Codex meetings as observers. The FSAI is one of the organisations that represent Ireland at Codex.

The detailed work of Codex Alimentarius Commission on drafting standards, codes of practice and other guidance is handled by 21 committees (as of 2024) which fall into four general categories: 

•  Executive committee
• General Subject committees (dealing with issues applicable across a range of commodities e.g. labelling, food additives and contaminants in food)
• Commodity committees (covering a particular commodity e.g. fish and fishery products
• Coordinating committees (one for each of the six Codex regions e.g. Europe).

Codex standards are based on the best scientific and technical knowledge and are developed through a formal procedure, which rely on consensus for their agreement. If consensus cannot be achieved it is possible for a vote to be called, but this is avoided if possible (Member countries can vote; observer organisations have no vote). Agreed standards are voluntary, implementation by member countries is not necessarily automatic.

Ireland’s participation in Codex is coordinated through the Research & Codex Division, located in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The Codex contact point for Ireland is:

Mr. Philip Kennedy
Research & Codex Division
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street,
Dublin 2 
Tel: + 353 1 6072501
E-mail: codex@agriculture.gov.ie; research@agriculture.gov.ie
Website: http://www.agriculture.gov.ie (link opens in a new window)

For information about activities contact:

Secretariat of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Head Quarters
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy
Telephone: +39 (06) 570 51
Email: codex@fao.org
Telex: 610181 FAOI