CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION (CAC)

Why in News?                                                                                                        

The 7th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was held from 29th January 2024 to 2nd February 2024 at Kochi. After the Covid-19 pandemic, CCSCH7 was the first session of this committee to be conducted physically. 109 delegates from 31 countries attended the session.

What is Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)?

• The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), jointly established by FAO and WHO, is an international, intergovernmental body with membership of over 194 countries, which is based in Rome and is tasked with formulating internationally accepted standards pertaining to human food.
• The CAC conducts its work through various Codex committees, including the CCSCH, hosted by different member countries.
• The standards of CAC are recognized by the WTO as international reference points for the resolution of trade disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection.
• The standards developed by the Committees under the CAC, including the CCSCH, are voluntary in nature, which the member countries of the CAC adopt and use as reference standards to align their national standards.
• The works of CAC contribute to harmonization of food standards across the globe, facilitate fair global trade in food, and enhance food safety to safeguard the health of global consumers.
• The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was established as one of the Commodity Committees under the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) in 2013. India hosts this prestigious Committee since the beginning and Spices Board India serves as the Secretariat organization which organizes the Committee’s sessions.
• CCSCH7 achieved excellent results. In this session, quality standards for 5 spices, namely small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allpice and star anise were finalised.
• CCSCH has forwarded these five standards to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) recommending for adoption at final Step 8 as full-fledged Codex standards.
• For the first time ever in this committee, the strategy of grouping of spices was successfully implemented. In this manner the committee finalised the first group standard for ‘spices derived from fruits and berries’ (covering 3 spices, viz, juniper berry, allspice and star anise) in the present session.
• The 7 th session of CCSCH witnessed participation of a large number of Latin American countries for the first time.

The next meeting of the Committee will be conducted after a period of 18 months.