Codex Alimentarius: The Impact of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme on EU Food Law
European Institute for Food Law Working Paper Series 2018/04
40 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2018 Last revised: 18 Jul 2018
Date Written: June 7, 2018
Abstract
The FAO and the WHO have set up a joint food standards programme with at its core the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has a membership base of its own. It adopts standards by consensus of its member countries, based on the scientific input from risk assessment bodies that also form part of the joint FAO/WHO food standards programme. The purpose of the standards of the Codex Alimentarius is to harmonise national and regional food legislation at a global level. This paper explores to what extent the influence of the Codex Alimentarius is actually present in EU food law. To this end, it identifies the major fields of EU food law on the basis of a pre-existing framework for analysis. The paper shows that the Codex Alimentarius is present in all these major fields in concepts, methods, principles and rules of conduct for food businesses.
Keywords: Codex Alimentarius, Food Law
JEL Classification: K20, K23, K30, K32, Q18
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