A global food standards setting agency has supported guidance on several topics to try and improve food safety, including traditional markets and ciguatera.

The United Nations food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Texts adopted at a meeting in November include guidelines for food hygiene control measures in traditional food markets and a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of ciguatera poisoning.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said Codex must support the transformation of food systems to be more sustainable and responsive to emerging risks.

“Codex standards must not only address the present but also anticipate future needs, promoting nutrition and food safety while ensuring public health, fostering fair trade and facilitating the transition to sustainable food systems,” he said.

Main accomplishments
Codex members adopted sections on fresh leafy vegetables and sprouts in the guidelines for the control of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The document also covers raw beef, raw milk and raw milk cheese.

Other approvals involved maximum levels for lead in various spices and for lead and cadmium in quinoa as well as sampling plans for methylmercury in fish. More time was allowed to complete work on the sampling plans for total aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in dried chili pepper, nutmeg, and paprika.

Some standards were adopted despit...