Forty-ninth session of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission adopts new standards

The 49th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC49) will be held 6–10 July 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland. The plenary sessions will be webcast in all six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

The plenary discussions will take place from 10.00 to 13:00 CEST and 15:00 to 18:00 CEST from Monday 6 July to Wednesday 8 July 2026. Report adoption will take place on Friday 10 July from 10:00 CEST.

Seven technical Codex committees have met since the last Commission meeting, to complete work on a range of texts which have been proposed for adoption by CAC49.

Texts for adoption include:

• Standard for spices in the form of dried fruits and berries - large cardamom
• Standard for spices derived from dried or dehydrated fruits and berries - vanilla
• Revised Guidelines for the control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat (CXG 78-2011)
• Revised Guidelines on the application of general principles of food hygiene to the control of Listeria monocytogenes in foods (CXG 61-2007)
• Standard for bakers’ yeast
• Revisions to the General standard for food additives (GSFA, CXS 192-1995) - Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (INS 475)
• General standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods (CXS 1-1985) - guidelines on the use of precautionary allergen labelling
• Guidelines on application of food labelling provisions in emergencies

SUMMARIES ON KEY DECISIONS

Real-time summaries of key decisions made by the Codex Alimentarius Commission will be published on the websites of both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as they happen:

FAO Newsroom

WHO Newsroom

About Codex

Established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Codex Alimentarius Commission first met in 1963. It is the United Nations’ body charged with setting food standards to protect consumer health and facilitate fair practices in international food trade.

Comprising 188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (the European Union) and 246 Observer Organizations, the Commission meets annually to adopt food safety and quality standards and related recommendations.

All sessions of CAC49 will be webcast in the six official Codex languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

Journalists are encouraged to contact FAO and WHO to arrange interviews with respective experts on a range of Codex Alimentarius related themes.