Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Codex News Item, 30 December 2021
In an introductory message to Codex Members and Observers, the new Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Steve Wearne, together with incoming Vice-Chairpersons Allan Azegele, Raj Rajasekar and Diego Varela, has promised the new team of officials will be impartial and deliver “an inclusive, transparent and resilient Codex respected throughout the world for its commitment to consensus-driven and science-based food standards”.
The message also underlines the importance of the Codex Strategic Plan and the new team’s commitment to ensuring the Codex membership is heard and understood on issues and debates.
The following is the full text of the message:
Dear Codex members and observers,
We are honoured to have been elected as chairperson and vice-chairpersons of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and we wanted to take this opportunity to set out our commitment to you and to outline our proposed ways of working.
We promise that we will be impartial, and that we will work tirelessly to deliver an inclusive, transparent and resilient Codex respected throughout the world for its commitment to consensus-driven and science-based food standards. We will work in the service of the membership, ensuring we are close to members, to committees and committee chairs, ensuring we understand issues and debates so we can help guide the Codex family through them.
All four of us, as individual members of the Executive Committee in our own right or representing countries that were members or regional co-ordinators or as advisors, had a stake in developing our Strategic Plan 2020-2025. You will have seen in our campaign literature the particular value and importance we each attach to various parts of our plan, whether strengthening national Codex capacities, promoting participation, or increasing awareness and use of Codex standards. As chairperson and vice-chairpersons, all four of us are fully committed to the successful delivery of each part of our plan. And all four of us see this as the route towards our vision for Codex as a strong and vibrant organisation, where the world comes together to create food safety and quality standards that protect everyone everywhere.
In delivering our Strategic Plan, as in all other aspects of the work of Codex, our intention is to put member countries and regions at the centre. Codex members need and deserve a chairperson and vice-chairpersons that are committed, representative and balanced, that value inclusivity and dialogue, and who ensure each voice is heard.
Our observers are also a vital part of the Codex family and contribute unparalleled technical expertise and insights that can improve Codex texts and tools, ensuring they can be implemented in the real world. As chairperson and vice-chairpersons, we value these contributions and support the active participation of observers, particularly in the work of Codex Committees, Task Forces and their electronic and physical Working Groups that are relevant to them and their membership and where they have knowledge, expertise, perspectives and insights to offer.
