The meeting, organized by IICA and the United States Department of Agriculture, is the third to be held in Latin America this year.
Montevideo, Uruguay, August 4, 2015 (IICA). A Codex Alimentarius colloquium, a meeting in which 22 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries will endeavor to establish common positions on international food safety standards, will be getting under way in Uruguay today.
Among the participants in the activity, which will take place in the Sheraton Montevideo Hotel, will be the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of the host country, Tabaré Aguerre; the Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Uruguay, Antonio Donizetti; and the President of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay, Fernando Fontán.
Others taking part will be the representative of the Codex coordinating office for LAC, Cassandra Pacheco, and the US manager for Codex Alimentarius, Mary Frances Lowe.
The event, organized by IICA and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an opportunity for the countries to identify regional positions of mutual interest and develop participation strategies for the forthcoming international Codex meetings on food hygiene, nutrition and foods for special dietary uses, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Delegates will be attending from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, the US, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Uruguay.
Codex Alimentarius is the benchmark organization for food safety standards, recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its science-based standards contribute to safety, quality, and equity in international food trade.
The Codex in Uruguay
The National Codex Alimentarius Committee is made up of the ministries responsible for livestock, agriculture and fisheries; industry, energy and mines; foreign affairs; housing, land use planning and environment; public health; and economic affairs and finance. A representative of the National Congress of Mayors and the Codex contact point in Uruguay are also members of the committee, which is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
More information:
antonio.donizetti@iica.int
