Understanding Codex

Photo © FAO/Didar Salimbayev

What Does Codex Alimentarius Mean?

Codex Alimentarius, meaning "Food Code" in English, is a collection of standards, guidelines, and codes of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is the central component of the Joint Food Standards Programme, established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade. The Commission held its first meeting in 1963. Today, it has 189 members and 239 observers, including the Association of European Coeliac Societies (AOECS).

The Codex Alimentarius contains thousands of food standards, ranging from general to product-specific ones. It also includes standards and regulations on various food-related topics, such as hygiene, labelling, inspection, certification systems, methods of analysis, sampling, food additives, food contaminants, and more. All standards and guidelines are developed by independent scientific experts with the aim of protecting consumer health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.

Although Codex Alimentarius standards are not legally binding, most nations base their national food regulations on them.

AOECS’s Role in the Codex Commission

AOECS obtained observer status in the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1991 after years of raising awareness about inadequate food ingredient labelling. This effort led to a proposal from the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, stating that products containing gluten should always be declared on labels.

As an observer, AOECS contributed to the development of the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods, which was ratified in 1999. This standard mandates that ingredients and additives in food containing gluten must always be labelled, with no exceptions.

Initially, the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses proposed setting the gluten content threshold at 20 ppm for naturally gluten-free foods and 200 ppm for rendered gluten-free products. AOECS played a significant role in drafting this proposal and emphasised the need for labelling the origin of starch. Despite resistance from the food industry against labelling wheat starch, AOECS continued to advocate before the EU Commissioner for Agriculture for improved labelling in the EU.

In 2006, thanks to AOECS's advocacy, the Codex Alimentarius Commission decided to lower the gluten threshold for specially processed gluten-free products from 200 ppm to 100 ppm. Additionally, the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling endorsed the R5 Mendez ELISA as an approved method for testing gluten content in food (sandwich ELISA) and in beverages or other hydrolysed products (competitive ELISA), which was included in the Codex Standard in 2008.

Once Codex rules on labelling gluten-free products were harmonised, the EU developed Regulation 41/2009 and other regulations to protect coeliac consumers in the European Union. These regulations help people with coeliac disease or other gluten-related conditions identify safe gluten-free products and maintain a varied gluten-free diet.

AOECS's ongoing activity as a Codex observer allows the coeliac community to stay informed about developments and potential risks. For example, AOECS has alerted on the risks of gluten coatings on fruits and vegetables, gluten-containing processing aids in cheese, and has provided feedback on the rule that no gluten-containing flour or starch should be used in manufacturing chocolate products.

In 2012, AOECS launched the AOECS Standard for gluten-free foods, establishing minimum food safety criteria for products bearing the Crossed Grain Trademark. The AOECS Standard aligns with Codex Alimentarius guidelines.

Today, AOECS remains an active observer in the Codex Commission, participating in discussions that concern or may impact the well-being of people with coeliac disease. These include revisions to the General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods, provisions relevant to allergen labelling (GSLPF), and the proposed draft Guidance on Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL), among others.

Gluten-free achievements over the years within the Codex framework

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