Codex: What Exactly is it and How Does
it Impact Your Health Freedom?
by www.SixWise.com
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop worldwide
food standards.
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The food standards developed by Codex Alimentarius
are now voluntary, but could be made mandatory as soon
as 2010.
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Today, Codex Alimentarius, or the food code, serves as a
"global reference point" for consumers, food producers
and processors, national food control agencies and the international
food trade. Its primary mission is to "formulate and
harmonize food standards to protect public health and ensure
fair practices in the food trade."
While compliance with Codex standards is now voluntary, it
may become mandatory by 2010 -- a move that has prompted considerable
controversy about the future freedom of food.
Who's Involved With Codex?
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is responsible for
creating the food code, is an international body. According
to the most recent statistics, 163 countries, representing
97 percent of the world's population, are members -- including
the United States.
The Commission meets every two years, either at FAO headquarters
in Rome or WHO headquarters in Geneva, and has had chairpersons
from Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom
and the United States.
They have developed general standards for the following topics:
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Food labeling
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Food additives
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Contaminants
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Methods of analysis and sampling
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Food hygiene
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Nutrition and foods for special dietary uses
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Food import and export inspection and certification systems
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Residues of veterinary drugs in foods
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Pesticide residues in foods.
What's the Controversy About?
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Codex, critics say, could prohibit the use of natural
substances to prevent disease while raising the allowable
level of pesticides, drugs and other toxins in our food.
Meanwhile, it could allow genetically modified foods
to exist worldwide.
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On the surface, Codex Alimentarius sounds, indeed, like a
measure to protect the public and ensure food safety around
the globe. However, a growing number of health advocacy groups
are claiming that Codex is not about safety or protection,
but rather about eliminating "competition" for pharmaceutical,
chemical and agribusiness corporations.
They say that once Codex standards become law, consumers
will have inferior food rules imposed upon them, while food
standards and trade will be completely controlled worldwide.
Meanwhile, according to critics, Codex may ultimately:
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Prohibit the use of natural substances to prevent and
treat disease
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Legalize genetically modified organisms
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Mandate antibiotics and hormones in animal feed
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Raise the allowable level of pesticides, toxins and drugs
in foods
- Prohibit consumers from purchasing traditional herbs and
medicines
Current Codex Issues
From April 30 to May 4, the 35th Meeting of the Codex Committee
on Food Labeling is taking place in Ottawa, Canada. Chief
among the issues being discussed is the differences between
international regulations of genetically
modified (GM) foods.
While in the United States, for instance, GM foods do not
need to be labeled, in Europe all GM ingredients must be labeled
on food packages. Of course, this poses a trade problem between
the United States (which produces many GM crops) and Europe,
which does not want to import them.
In order to "harmonize" global standards according
to Codex, one of these countries would have to change (and,
critics say, the pressure is already on Europe to do just
that).
Recommended Reading
So
Now What Exactly Does Certified Organic Mean? Is it Really
Organic?
Is
Pasteurization More of a Health Risk or a Safety Benefit?
Sources
CodexAlimentarius.net
FoodNavigator.com
April 25, 2007
What
You Can do About Codex, A Threat to Your Health Freedom
NewsTarget.com
The
Dr. Rath Health Foundation