Codex Alimentarius Commission Guidelines

In 2009, the CAC approved a new guideline for the validation of methods used for the determination of veterinary drug residues in foods (CAC/GL 71-2009), which replaced the previous guidance. The new guidance states that methods may be validated in a single laboratory, provided that the validation meets the General Criteria for the Selection of Methods of Analysis contained in the CAC Procedural Manual In addition  

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Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines for the assessment of the competence of testing laboratories involved in the import and export control of food... 

There are two sources of information from the CAC that provide guidance on the validation of analytical methods. General guidance on method validation, including single-laboratory method validation, may be found in the CAC Procedural Manual.This is supplemented by Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines, a number of which have been adopted from harmonized guidelines previously developed by independent international scientific... 

Codex Guideline EMRL(1)-1997, List of Codex Extraneous Maximum Residue Limits in Food , Codex Alimentarius Commission, Washington, DC (1997). 

Draft General Guidelines on Sampling , Document reference ALINORM 04/27/23, Appendix III, Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2004. [http //www.codexalimentarius.net] (accessed 10 October, 2006). 

Because of the status of the CAC described above, the work that it has carried out in the area of laboratory quality assurance must be carefully considered. One of the CAC Committees, the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS), has developed criteria for assessing the competence of testing laboratories involved in the official import and export control of foods. These were recommended by the Committee at its 21st Session in March 19979 and adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission at its 22nd Session in June 1997 10 they mirror the EU recommendations for laboratory quality standards and methods of analysis. The guidelines provide a framework for the implementation of quality assurance measures to ensure the competence of testing laboratories involved in the import and export control of foods. They are intended to assist countries in then-fair trade in foodstuffs and to protect consumers. 

Thus, as for the European Union, the requirements are based on accreditation, proficiency testing, the use of validated methods of analysis and, in addition, the formal requirement to use internal quality control procedures which comply with the Harmonised Guidelines. Although the EU and Codex Alimentarius Commission refer to different sets of accreditation standards, the ISO/IEC Guide 25 1990 and EN 45000 series of standards are similar in intent. It is only through these measures that international trade will be facilitated and the requirements to allow mutual recognition to be fulfilled will be achieved. 

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 Program. The main purposes of this Program are to protect the health of the consumers and to ensure fair trade practices in the food trade, and to promote the coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations (CA 2007). 

Survey on flavouring substances currently marketed or used in Japan (summary), March 2001. flavor Committee, Japan Flavor and Fragrance Materials Association Discussion paper on the development of a Codex Guideline that establishes safe conditions of use for flavourings in foods with a reference to the evaluations completed by JECFA (2005). Codex Alimentarius Commission, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Rome... 

CX/MAS 02/6 (2002), Codex Alimentarius Commission, Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (FAO/WHO), Proposed draft guidelines on measurement uncertainty, agenda item 5 of the 24th session, Budapest, Hungary, Nov. 18-22, 2002. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission (1999) Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organic Livestock and Livestock Products. Alinorm 99/22 A, Appendix IV. Codex Alimentarius Commission, Rome. 

Codex Alimentarius Commission. 2003. Alinorm 03/34 Appendix III. Guideline for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant DNA plants. Annex IV. Annex on the assessment for possible allergenicity, Rome, Italy. 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission serves as the seminal global reference point for consumers, food producers and processors, national food control agencies and the international food trade. Codex standards and guidelines cover over 200 food commodities and provided the safe limits for over 3000 contaminants and residues. In 1985, UN Resolution 39/248 adopted guidelines advising governments to support and, as far as possible, adopt standards from the Codex. 

A general guideline for use of the term halal was under discussion within the FAO/ WHQ Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Labelling. The guideline has been adopted at the 22nd session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission on June 23-28, 1997. 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) issued a guideline in 1997 for laboratories involved in the import/export testing of foods recommending that such laboratories meet the following four criteria ... 

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