Chronicle of the Codex Alimentarius events

The final seminar in the chain of seminars was held in the regions of Kazakhstan on the topic “ Priority food safety issues ” was held on June 26-27, 2024 in Uralsk, West-Kazakhstan region. Taking into account the importance and relevance of the topic of the event, the Department of Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the West Kazakhstan Region selected the venue of the seminar in the new luxury conference hall of the “Atameken Palace of Arts”. The seminar was attended by 48 person from the employees of the territorial divisions of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Committee for Veterinary Control and Surveillance of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, the RSE “National Center of Expertise”, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken” and food industry enterprises of the West Kazakhstan region.

In frame the presentations of the reports, discussions with the audience arose on the use of veterinary drugs, compliance of food enterprises' personnel with hygiene standards and commodity neighboring standards.  Current food safety issues faced by the participants in the course of their activities were also discussed.

The participants unanimously noted the importance of holding such kind of seminars to improve competencies and their involvement in the development of international cooperation in food safety.

June 19-20, 2024, a training workshop on food safety was held for the west region of the country in Aktobe city. Total 55 participants were registered from Aktobe, Atyrau and Mangystau oblasts.

The head of the Department of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the Aktobe region, R. M. Koyshanova, gave a welcoming speech, wishing fruitful work. The modern spacious hall gathered representatives of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee of the MoH of RK, the Veterinary Control and Supervision Committee of the MinAgri, "National Center of Expertise" of the CSEC of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, food facilities.

The topics covered by the lecturers allowed the audience from different fields to be interested in both general current issues, in particular, Codex Alimentarius standards and practical aspects of participation in their development, the One Health approach, as well as more specific ones, including the implementation of HACCP principles, the strategy for limiting the consumption of trans fats, and synthetic dyes.

A survey of participants showed that there is a need to conduct such workshops, and topics were proposed.

The next venue for a series of cluster seminars on the topic “Actual issues of food safety” was the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Representatives of the territorial divisions of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health (hereinafter – CSEC MH) and the Committee for Veterinary Control and Surveillance of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the RSE on the REM "National Center of Expertise", the RSE on the REM "Republican Veterinary Laboratory", National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken”, as well as food industry enterprises of the East Kazakhstan and Abay regions were invited to the event. A total of 60 people participated.

The participants showed high interest in the presented reports. The issues of application of Codex Alimentarius standards in Kazakhstan, implementation of state control, implementation of HACCP, antimicrobial resistance, and regulation of trans fats were vigorously discussed. As a result, some entrepreneurs and employees of the CSEC MH in the East Kazakhstan region expressed an intention to join the group of national experts on work in the specialized committees of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Requests were also expressed wishes about the need to hold similar seminars on other important aspects of food safety.

June 5-6, 2024, a regional workshop “Priority issues of food safety” was held in Kostanay for interested organizations and departments. Representatives of the territorial departments of sanitary and epidemiological control of the Ministry of Healthcare of RK, the veterinary control and surveillance inspection of the Ministry of Agriculture of RK, the branch of the "National Center of Expertise" for the Kostanay region of the CSEC of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, food manufacturers took part in the workshop. The total number is 54 participants.

According to the agenda, food safety issues were discussed, including Codex Alimentarius standards, HACCP, food origin antimicrobial resistance. As usual, practical interest was aroused by the discussion of the trans fats impact on health, the level of their consumption by modern human, and the policy of limiting the use of trans fats. Also, a heated discussion took place after the report on new food sources, which is also a document for consideration within the framework of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Participants completed the questionnaire on the quality of the workshop, and an analysis will be conducted at the end of all planned workshops.

The 33rd session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (hereinafter – CCEURO33) was held in Berlin (Germany). Participants included delegates from 32 countries in the European Region, four Members countries from other regions, two observer organizations, as well as the the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

During the session, the following issues were considered: the “One Health” approach and food safety –  Challenges and Potential; Matters arising from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and Codex subsidiary bodies; FAO/WHO work in the Region; Food safety and quality issues in the region; Use and Impact of Codex Standards in the Region.

Also one of the issues on the agenda Codex work relevant to the Region. As part of this issue, an agreement was reached on the need to create an electronic working group to develop Food-Based Nutrition Guidelines for the European region. The working group was chaired by Germany, co-chaired by Spain, Türkiye and Kazakhstan.

In addition, progress in the implementation of the Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025: Implementation in the European region was discussed. On this issue, Kazakhstan was acting as a facilitator of the middle income countries (MIC) group  to discuss draft priority goal 4 “Facilitate the participation of all Codex Members throughout the standard setting process” on the types of activities to be implemented in the European Region in 2024-2025

The contribution and participation of CCEURO in the development of the draft Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025: Implementation in the European region.

On May 30, a side event entitled “Codex Trust Fund-2 Perspectives from beneficiary countries and introduction of the CTF2 project output repository” was held. Kazakhstan made a report on the results and successes of the implementation of the Trust Fund project in Kazakhstan. An event “Leveraging national data and information for international food standards” was also held.

The work of the Federal Republic of Germany during the first term of its chairmanship was highly appreciated at CCEURO33 and the powers of the Federal Republic of Germany as chairman were extended for another two-years term.

May 14-15, 2024, a workshop was held in Pavlodar. Participants were presented by employees of the territorial divisions of the Committee for Sanitarian and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Healthcare of RK, the branch of the "National Center of Expertise", food producers of the Pavlodar region, NChE "Atameken" and universities (Pavlodar State University named after Toraigyrov). 45 people took part.

The speakers spoke on issues of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, their subsidiary bodies, antimicrobial resistance and the One Health approach, HACCP principles, and outbreaks of foodborne diseases.

The workshop was attended by domestic food producers, who also shared their experience and opinions regarding the HACCP principles. In particular, the “Rubikom” enterprise, which produces sausages and semi-finished products, spoke about the work done to implement the HACCP principles. Advisor to the General Director of the “Abay” meat processing enterprise said that HACCP is, first of all, self-control, when the manufacturer can manage his work process, correctly distribute the work process and, most importantly, realize his responsibility to the consumer for the safety of his products. Moreover, HACCP is extremely similar to the requirements for Halal products. It was emphasized that the introduction of HACCP principles guarantees the food safety of manufactured products, and also significantly increases the enterprise’ export potential.

According to established tradition, the participants appreciated the quality of the workshop and expressed their wishes on topics that are interesting to them and necessary in their work activities. Analysis of the responses revealed the participants’ satisfaction with the knowledge gained during the workshop, the informative availability of materials, and expressed their wishes to conduct similar workshops on a regular basis.

As part of the planned schedule of seminars, a seminar on the topic “Actual issues of food safety” was held in Astana. The participants of the seminar were representatives of services and departments in the field of food safety and entrepreneurs from Astana, Akmola, Ulytau and Karaganda regions. As a whole, 56 people took part.

According to the participants' feedback, the seminar was very relevant and productive. The issue of control the maximum residue levels of pesticides in the legislation of Kazakhstan arose particular interest among the seminar participants. The issues of registration and forecasting of food poisonings, cases of food poisoning known to the participants also arouse heated discussion. The relevance of the presentation on new food sources was noted.

At the end of the seminar, a questioning of participants was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the seminar. Based on the results of the questioning , a high rating was given, and wishes were expressed to hold similar seminars on a regular basis.

As the seminar participants noted, the high-quality representation of the audience was valuableюIt is allowed for a discussion of the topics raised from various professional positions/points of view.

On April 19 this year the Russian Export Center and leading certification bodies of Belarus and Kazakhstan held a webinar for companies planning or carrying out export deliveries to the EAEU countries. The webinar was attended by representatives of the production and sale of food products, fertilizers, medicines, including veterinary, medical products, household chemicals, building materials, electronics, and communications.

Presentations were made on issues of technical regulation of the EAEU for various types of products and the application of technical regulations of the EAEU, as well as services provided by organizations for exporters and importers.

Zeinulla Sharipov, as a representative of the National Center of Expertise, spoke about the basics of state control of food safety and presented the services provided by the National Center of Expertise to ensure the safety of processes, goods and services. A representative of KazStandard made a presentation on technical regulation in Kazakhstan.

April 16, 2024, a presentation on « INFOSAN and RASFF Role at global and national levels » was delivered for undergraduates in the educational program «Safety and Quality of Food Products» of the NJSC «S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University».

Sharipov Zeinulla, as the national coordinator of the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and the Contact Point of Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), spoke about the emergency response system in Kazakhstan and the interaction of Kazakhstan with the global community.

Information on the functioning of international systems such as the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) was also presented. Examples of interaction with these systems in cases related to Kazakhstan were given.

The master's students were interested in the presentation and, given the emergency situations in some regions of Kazakhstan, asked questions regarding the prevention of disease outbreaks after flood waters.

April 11, 2024. The workshop was held for employees of the Nutrition chair, the Public Health chair, the Epidemiology chair of the Kazakh national medical university named after Asfendiyarov. The chairs are based at the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition. The speakers made presentations on the experience of Kazakhstan as a regional coordinator of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the work of the Codex committees on contaminants, nutrition and foods for special dietary uses, and veterinary drugs. The teaching staff was also interested in information about introduction HACCP principles.

An agreement was reached with the head of the Chair of Nutrition Kaiynarbayeva M. on arrangement lectures on food safety and Codex Alimentarius for students and undergraduates online.

April 9-10, 2024. The workshop was held in Almaty with the invitation of stakeholders of the Almaty city, Almaty and Zhetysu regions. 63 participants of the two-day workshop represented territorial divisions of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of MoH RK, the Committee for Veterinary Control and Surveillance of Minagri RK, branches of the National Center of Expertise, NChE “Atameken”, food producers of Almaty and the indicated regions, universities (Kazakh National University named after Al-Farabi, Almaty Technological University).

During the presentations, participants asked questions. Thus, participants were interested in the presence of domestic food producers that meet international standards. It was explained that in general in Kazakhstan there are food producers of products meeting international standards and trading at the national and/or international level, that is, at a minimum, exporters produce such products. Much depends on a product and safety indicators.

Participants also actively discussed the food purchase by the majority of the population in markets and at spontaneous retail points, where there is no guarantee of food safety. As a rule, food products are purchased at spontaneous retail points due to their more affordable cost. However, on the Kazakhstan territory, all food products must be safe, regardless of the place of sale, forms of sale (offline, online), etc. This issue is the competence of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health.

At the end of the workshop, the participants replied to questions, where they were asked to evaluate the workshop, the reports accessibility, the applicability of the gained knowledge in their work, and interested topics.

The workshop participants expressed the need to conduct similar seminars/trainings on current issues of food safety.

It was started the round of workshops on April 4 2024. Duration of the off-line seminars “Priority food safety issues” is from April to June 2024.  The main goal is to implement Country WHO Operation Plan p.5 on introduction One Health approach in Kazakhstan (first half of 2024) and in frame the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund. First workshop was held in Shymkent under the Shymkent Department for sanitary and epidemiological control, Committee for sanitary and epidemiological control Ministry of Health.

Workshop Agenda is prepared for two days. First day is dedicated to Experience of Kazakhstan in Codex Alimentarius, contaminants, dietary foods, veterinary drugs, trans fats, HACCP, state food control. Second day was dedicated to  diseases of food origin, One health approach, AMR, including Codex Alimentarius standards, pesticides, food colours, HACCP, new food sources, methodology for risks assessment to determine food safety indicators to make sanitary and epidemiological monitoring and control purchase. Questioning was made by the outcomes of Workshop to access workshop and identify new needs.

55 persons from the territorial divisions of the Committee for sanitary and epidemiological control MH, Committee for veterinary control and surveillance Minagri, branches of National Center for expertise, NCE “Atameken”, food producers of Shymkent, Zhambyl, Turkestan, Kyzylorda oblasts.

Reports recalled hot discussion among the workshop participants and understanding on importance of participation in activities related to Codex Alimentarius standards. They expressed wishes on conduction the similar regular seminars on priority food safety topics. 

On December 7, 2023, a conference «Codex Alimentarius. Outcomes, lessons learned, successes» was held. This event was timed to complete the WHO Trust Fund Project «Building Sustainable National Capacity on Codex Alimentarius» for 2021-2023 (hereinafter – СTF Project). This conference was opened by the Chairman of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sadvakasov N.O. Also, the WHO Representative and Head of WHO Country Office in Kazakhstan Skender Syla, Sub-Regional Representative of the WOAH Sub-Regional Representation for Central Asia Mereke Taitubaev, FAO-Kazakhstan Partnership Program Coordinator Andrey Ershov delivered a welcoming speech. The event was attended by about 40 people from interested public authorities, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan «Atameken», research institutes, universities, etc.

National Coordinator Codex Alimentarius Karsybekova N.M. made a full review of the СTF Project implementation over 3 years, incl. regional chairmanship in the European region.

A high expert assessment of the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund Project of the implementation in Kazakhstan was given by an international expert, Ph.D. Jeronimas Maskeliunas.

On issues of ensuring food safety, trends in international standardization and harmonization of national legislation, the Chairman of the Board of RSE on REM «National Center of Expertise» of the Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kiyasov Ye.A., Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Veterinary Control and Supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan S.B. Tyulegenov, Deputy Head of the Coordination Center for Technical Regulation of the RSE «Kazakh Institute of Standardization and Metrology» Razzarenov A.A., Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University Maykanov B.S., Leading specialist of the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition Sharipbaeva A.Sh., researcher at the Research Institute of Preventive Medicine named after Academician Ye. Dalenov at the «Astana Medical University» Tolegenova Ye.

At the final part of the conference, a plenary session was held with the participation of national experts where they were able to share their experience of working within the framework of the CTF Project activities.

At the end of the conference, all participants clearly concluded the necessity and importance of continuing the implementation of the СTF Project activities to facilitate the involvement of all participants in the food chain in issues related to Codex Alimentarius standards. It is especially important to extend training directly on site at the regional level.

Today in Rome (Italy) the 46th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (hereinafter referred to as the 46th session of the Commission) began its work, which is attended by about 600 delegates from 189 countries.

The Kazakh delegation consists of 4 people. These are the Chairman of the Board of the National Centre of Expertise of the CSEC Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Kiyasov, National Coordinator for Codex Alimentarius, the head of the international cooperation sector of the National Center of Expertise of the CSEC Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nailya Karsybekova, INFOSAN/RASSF contact point, the specialist in the international cooperation sector of the National Center of Expertise CSEC Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zeinulla Sharipov and the Leading specialist of the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition Aigul Sharipbaeva.

The first day of the session, November 27, 2023, was dedicated to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission with speeches from the heads of FAO, WHO, chairman of regional and specialized committees. The 46th session of the Commission will run until December 2, 2023.

Delegates will have to discuss important issues within the framework of relevant committees, such as residues of veterinary drugs in foods, nutrition and foods for special dietary uses, food additives, etc.  On December 1 this year, the Kazakh delegation will participate in the discussion of antimicrobial resistance and implementation of activities under the Trust Fund Project.

A heated debate is expected on the draft MRL for zilpaterol hydrochloride. This issue is of particular importance for the European Region, as are others, in particular the draft Strategic Plan 2026-2030, new sources of food and food production systems.

National expert Auteleeva L. participated in the Academic Forum of Young Scientists from Big Eurasia Countries “Continent of Science”.

Young scientists from 14 countries took part in the forum. This forum was held as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation.

The report “Aflatoxin contamination of various nuts and the development of methods for their detoxification” took second place.

Congratulations to the member of the Interagency Steering Council on Codex Alimentarius, national expert on food safety, professor of the Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University. S.Seifullin Maikanov Balgabay Sadepovich with the awarding of the Kurmet Medal!

Under the guidance of prof. Maykanov B.S. 9 Candidate of Sciences and 1 Doctor of Sciences dissertations and 3 PhD thesis were defended. Based on the results of scientific research, more than 300 scientific works have been published, including textbooks, teaching aids, monographs, etc. Prof. Maykanov B.S. is also the author of the discipline for undergraduates “Codex Alimentarius in the expertise of foods”, thus being an innovator in the implementation of Codex standards in the educational system.

Merits of Prof. Maykanov B.S. were recognized with the badge "Honored Worker of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan", the medal "For Merit in the Development of Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan". The professor is the owner of the state grant “Best University Teacher” and others.

We are confident that authority, knowledge, and concern for food safety issues in the country will lead to further achievements and victories, as well as subsequent awards, as evidence of recognition of the professor’s merits!

On October 13, 2024, zoom meeting of the Intersectoral Steering Coordinating Council on Codex Alimentarius issues was held. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Karsybekova Nailya submitted a report on the activities of the Codex Alimentarius Group for the II-III quarters (April-September) 2023. Subject of the report was on the activities  of the Codex Alimentarius Group with the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on Codex profile Committees, and within the framework of the NCE work, as well as information on meetings and events held on reporting period.

Secretary of the Council Tolysbaeva Zhanar reported on the implementation of the Protocol Order’s decisions to meeting of the Interdepartmental Council dated April 21, 2023.

Professor Karsybekova N.M. informed about the preparatory work for the implementation of the Trust Fund project event - holding the final conference “Codex Alimentarius. Results, lessons learned, successes.” The draft program for this conference was presented. Council members discussed the topics of the reports. The draft was approved. Work related to arranging final conference will be continued.

The project “German-Kazakh Agrarian-Political Dialogue” conducted training for local partners and beneficiaries, teachers of agricultural universities, research institutes, consultants and specialists in organic farming with the involvement of experts from the International Federation of Ecological Agricultural Movement (IFOAM). The training took place from September 18 to 22, 2023 on the basis of the NJSC North Kazakhstan University named after. M. Kozybaev" in Petropavlovsk.

One of the main issues discussed at this training was the regulation of organic production in the EU. The main aspects of the recently entered into force European Union Regulations No. 2017/625 and 2018/848 regulating the production of organic products, their labeling and control systems, as well as the international standard Codex Alimentarius GL 32–1999 “Guidelines for production, processing, labeling” were considered and marketing of organic food products."

A visit was made to the enterprise for processing and exporting organic grain, “Dikanshy Firm” LLP, as well as the farm of PE “Strelets”, which is engaged in growing potatoes and producing vermicompost using organic farming methods.

Guarantee systems for organic producers, including second-party certification, were also presented. An overview of organic markets and value chains was provided, as well as trends and approaches.

From October 2 to October 6, 2023, a BTSF seminar on «Food Safety Crisis Preparedness» was held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event was held as part of the 10th session of the EU-funded Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF) programme. The seminar was attended by representatives of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and other EU countries.

The main goal of the program is to provide specialized and advanced training as part of INFOSAN's global collaboration on food safety crisis preparedness and management.

The structure and tools of the WHO information system - the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) were presented at the seminar. The EU framework and tools for food safety crisis preparedness and management were reviewed. The main aspects of emergency plans and operational procedures in crisis mode were presented.

The acquired knowledge was consolidated in practical classes in groups based on an analysis of a specific situation.

Member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for One Health of the European WHO office, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Nailya Karsybekova took part in the third meeting, which took place from September 18 to 20, 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The meeting was opened by the Director of the WHO European Office, Hans Kluge, who noted the enormous contribution of TAG to the work of the region within the framework of the One Health approach.

The work was attended by 25 members from different European countries, representatives of the OIE, and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Reports were presented from the headquarters of WHO, UNEP, and the EU. WHO country offices reported on the implementation of the One Health approach in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

The chairmen of the TAG working subgroups reported on the results of the summer consultations with TAG members.

TAG members made comments and additions to the draft operational document for the implementation of the One Health approach in the European Region. The final version will be presented to TAG members to finalize the document. The final version of the document will be presented at a high-level meeting of European health ministers, which will be held on April 14-15, 2024 in Israel.