Editing Codex Alimentarius (section)

==History and governance==
Its name is derived from the [[Codex Alimentarius Austriacus]].<ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/v7700t/v7700t09.htm ''Codex Alimentarius'': how it all began] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website. Accessed 6 September 2012.</ref> Its texts are developed and maintained by the '''Codex Alimentarius Commission''' (CAC), a body established in early November 1961 by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] of the [[United Nations]] (FAO). Joined by the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) in June 1962, the CAC held its first session in Rome in October 1963.<ref>[http://www.codexalimentarius.org/about-codex/the-foundation-history-of-codex/en/ Codex timeline from 1945 to the present]</ref>

The Commission's main goals are to [[consumer protection|protect the health of consumers]], to facilitate [[international trade]], and to ensure fair practices in the international food trade.<ref name=UnderstandingCodex>''[http://www.fao.org/3/CA1176EN/ca1176en.pdf Understanding Codex]'', World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (5th ed. Sept. 2018).</ref>

The CAC is an [[intergovernmental organization]]: the member states of the FAO and WHO send delegations to the CAC.<ref name="10.1080_19440049.2013.795293">{{cite journal | author =Bernadene Magnuson | author2 = Ian Munro | author3 = Peter Abbot | author4 =Nigel Baldwin | author5 = Rebeca Lopez-Garcia | author6 = Karen Ly | author7 = Larry McGirr | author8 = Ashley Roberts | author9 = Susan Socolovsky | title = Review of the regulation and safety assessment of food substances in various countries and jurisdictions | journal = Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A | issn = 1944-0049 | doi = 10.1080/19440049.2013.795293|volume = 30 | issue = 7 | year = 2013 | pages = 1214, 1248 | pmid = 23781843 | pmc = 3725665 |oclc = 8145766001}}</ref> As of 2021, there were 189 members of the CAC (188 member countries plus one member organization, the [[European Union]])<ref>[http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/about-codex/members/en/ Members]: Codex Alimentarius Commission</ref> and 239 Codex observers (59 intergovernmental organizations, 164 [[non-governmental organization]]s, and 16 [[United Nations System|United Nations organizations]]).<ref>[http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/about-codex/observers/observers/about/en/ Codex Observers], Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations (last accessed August 31, 2021).</ref>

The CAC develops food standards on scientific evidence furnished by the scientific committees of the FAO and WHO; the oldest of these, the [[Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives]] (JECFA), was established in 1956 and predates the establishment of the CAC itself.<ref name="10.1080_19440049.2013.795293"/> According to a 2013 study, the CAC's primary functions are  "establishing international food standards for approved food additives, providing maximum levels in foods; maximum limits for contaminants and toxins; maximum residue limits for pesticides and for veterinary drugs used in veterinary animals; and establishing hygiene and technological function practice codes".<ref name="10.1080_19440049.2013.795293"/>

The CAC does not have regulatory authority, and the ''Codex Alimentarius'' is a reference guide, not an enforceable standard on its own.<ref name="10.1080_19440049.2013.795293"/> However, several nations adopt the ''Codex Alimentarius'' in their own regulations, and the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO), for purposes of food safety, refers to the ''Codex Alimentarius'' Sanitary and Phytosanitary practice codes in the [[Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures]] (SPS Agreement) for member countries.<ref name="10.1080_19440049.2013.795293"/> The ''Codex Alimentarius'' is thus an international reference point for the [[Dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization|resolution of international trade disputes]] concerning food safety and consumer protection.<ref name=UnderstandingCodex/><ref name="wto.org">[https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/spsund_e.htm Understanding the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures], World Trade Organization (May 1998).</ref> Many [[Bilateral trade agreements|bilateral]] and [[List of multilateral free-trade agreements|multilateral trade agreements]] refer to the ''Codex Alimentarius'', adopting it as a point of reference.<ref name=UnderstandingCodex/>