FAO, WHO Updating Codex Guidance on Viruses in Foods; Call for Experts, Data
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are calling for experts to contribute to the future work of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbial Risk Assessment (JEMRA) in the area of human enteric viruses in foods. FAO and WHO are also asking governments, industry, academia, consumer groups, laboratories, and other interested stakeholders to submit any available data and information to support JEMRA’s work.
In light of emerging issues associated with foodborne viruses and recent scientific developments, the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) quested that JEMRA provide scientific advice to inform the review of the Codex Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to The Control of Viruses in Food. The primary purpose of the guidelines is to provide direction on how to prevent or minimize the presence of human enteric viruses in foods, specifically, hepatitis A and norovirus.