Hapi_ The proceedings of the 19th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF19), under the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, kicked off this morning in Cairo. The event saw high-level international attendance, featuring representatives from 83 member states, in addition to 22 international organizations and observer bodies.
The opening session recorded the participation of 280 in-person attendees in the conference hall, alongside 136 remote (virtual) participants from across the globe, bringing the total registered participants for this session to 416 international experts and officials in the fields of food safety and standards.
The session was inaugurated by Dr. Khaled Sofy, Chairman of the Egyptian General Authority for Standardization and Quality and Chairman of the Egyptian Codex Committee (on behalf of the Minister of Industry), and Dr. Sally Hoffer, Chair of the International Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (from the Netherlands).
The opening panel included a distinguished group of international leaders and prominent figures in food safety, namely: Rana Gamali, Vice President of the Chamber of Food Industries; Dr. Sarah Cahill, Secretary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission; Dr. AbdulHakim Elwaer from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Eng. Taiko Vermeulen, Agricultural Counsellor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Egypt; Dr. Osama Maher from the World Health Organization (WHO); and Dr. Iman Helmy, representative of the National Food Safety Authority of Egypt; in addition to the Committee's Vice-Chairs: Dr. Khaled Al-Zahrani, Dr. Betul Vazgecer, and Dr. Tian Jing.
This event was organized through intensive efforts by the Egyptian Codex Unit at the Egyptian General Authority for Standardization and Quality (the Codex Contact Point in the Arab Republic of Egypt), which handled the organization and coordination of this international event. The unit's officials—Eng. Noha Attia, Chemist Maryam Barsoum, and Eng. Maryam Riad—carried out comprehensive administrative and technical preparations to manage the meeting's proceedings and monitor the participation of Egyptian and international delegations. The Egyptian delegation was headed by Eng. Noha Attia, Technical Secretary of the Committee on Contaminants in Foods in Egypt.
This session holds paramount strategic importance, as the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) continues to establish international standards and maximum limits for contaminants and toxins in food and feed, protecting consumer health and ensuring fair practices in global food trade. Over the course of its meetings, the Committee will deliberate on a series of drafts and recommended limits for mycotoxins, chemical contaminants, and heavy metals, as well as review risk assessments issued by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
