The 55th session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) has concluded in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with the adoption of the report and an acknowledgement of the spirit of compromise and collaboration that underscored fruitful discussions.

Concluding this first co-hosted session of the food additives committee, co-Chairperson, Professor Hae-Jung Yoon of the Republic of Korea said: “As we conclude this session, I’d like to extend my appreciation to everyone for their dedication, expertise and constructive discussions. Your commitment to global food safety standards is commendable. We have engaged in in-depth discussions, which have given valuable insight.” She went on to comment that “Our progress reflects international cooperation and a shared responsibility for food safety for consumers worldwide. While this session comes to an end, our work does not stop here. Recommendations and conclusions from this session will serve as a basis of future discussions. I encourage everyone to continue this work in advancing food safety and carry forward the spirit of collaboration that has defined this session.”

Dr Yongxian Fan, CCFA Chairperson, then offered his concluding words, thanking all Members and Observers. “During the report adoption we could see the spirit of compromise,” he said. “This is important.” Then he specifically mentioned the physical working group (PWG) meetings and in-session working group meetings that took place in the run up to the main plenary discussions “It is important that we have several working groups, and my special thanks go to the working group leaders – because of you we can have efficient discussion.” He also thanked the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea for their excellent organization. “You made us feel warmly welcome,” he said. Dr Fan then thanked co-Chairperson Yoon and her assistant. “We’re already good friends from this week. These friendships are important to improve communication and understanding between China and the Republic of Korea.”

Over the week, the Committee agreed on texts relating to a vast array of topics, including revised and new full specifications for the identity and purity of food additives and the endorsement and/or revision of maximum levels for food additives and processing aids in Codex standards. The Committee also agreed on the alignment of provisions of 18 commodity standards and on revisions to the relevant provisions of the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA). Further alignment work was agreed, and the establishment of an electronic working group (EWG) was also agreed upon.

CCFA55 also discussed 22 recommendations on multiple issues resulting from the United States of America-chaired PWG, the recommendations resulting from the EWG on the GSFA, and proposals for new and/or revisions of food additive provisions. Proposals for the revision of the Class names and international numbering system for food additives (CXG 36-1989) will also be forwarded to the 48th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC48) for adoption, together with additions and changes to the priority list of substances proposed for evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).

Discussions on the new draft standard for baker’s yeast concluded by agreeing to redraft the text once some technical issues are addressed. The Committee also discussed a paper on the working practices and the engagement plan to avoid divergence between the GSFA, commodity standards and other related Codex texts, and new work on the development of guidelines for food safety assessment of cell culture media components in cell-based food production. This work remains in progress.

Read more

CCF55 webpage