FAO-WHO 49th Session Of The Codex Alimentarius Commission Adopts New Standards
08 July 2026, Rome: The United Nations’ international food standards-setting body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, is meeting on 6 to 10 July 2026 to adopt food safety and quality standards.
Charged with protecting consumer health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is the executive organ of the joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme
Brief descriptions of some of the standards adopted at the 49th Session of the Commission are published below.
For more information on the session, visit the CAC49 information page.
Revised Guidelines for the control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat (CXG 78-2011)
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
According to WHO’s updated estimates on the global burden of foodborne disease, which were released for World food Safety Day this year, non-typhoidal Salmonella cause more burden than any other microbiological hazard. Campylobacter causes the greatest number of cases of foodborne disease. The revision of these guidelines, then, is timely.
The revision to this text follows updated expert advice from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA), which provided new recommendations on the management of risks associated with Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat from primary production to consumption. This commodity has been identified as one of the most important food vehicles for the transmission of these foodborne hazards.
The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, which is the committee responsible for this work, keeps these texts and associated developments on the related scientific knowledge, under constant review to ensure its work remains current and fit for purpose.
Revised Guidelines on the application of general principles of food hygiene to the control of Listeria monocytogenes in foods (CXG 61-2007)
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is ubiquitous, meaning that it is widely distributed in agricultural, aquacultural, and food processing environments. It can persist on equipment and surfaces and grow under refrigeration temperatures. Listeriosis, the illness caused by L. monocytogenes, has a range of symptoms with varying severity. Non-invasive gastrointestinal illness is the less severe form. There is a more severe, and even life-threatening, form of the disease that occurs when it, on rare occasions, spreads beyond the gut and into the bloodstream and other parts of the body. Certain groups are more susceptible to listeriosis, and in particular the severe form, including pregnant women and their unborn or new-born baby, those with a weakened immune system and adults over the age of 65.
The revision to the Codex Guidelines on the application of general principles of food hygiene to the control of Listeria monocytogenes in foods follows updates by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) to its risk assessments of L. monocytogenes in food commodities including ready-to-eat (RTE) diced cantaloupe, frozen vegetables, and RTE cold-smoked fish.
The guidelines advise food business operators and competent authorities on a framework for the control of L. monocytogenes, with the primary purpose of minimizing the likelihood of illness arising from the presence of L. monocytogenes in foods. They focus on control measures that can be used, where appropriate, to minimize and/or prevent the contamination and/or the growth of L. monocytogenes in foods, and this revision also provides updated guidance on environmental monitoring programmes and recommendations for characterizing isolates and for how food business operators can identify RTE foods in which growth of L. monocytogenes will not occur.
Standard for bakers’ yeast
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
In the absence of a harmonized international standard for yeast, the 47th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission approved new work on the development of a standard for bakers’ yeast in 2024. The standard applies to baker’s yeast as a food ingredient in the production of baked foods. As a widely traded commodity, different regions have different requirements for physical and chemical properties in baker’s yeast products, which may lead to trade barriers in importing and exporting these products between countries and regions.
This is the first commodity standard fully elaborated by the Codex Committee on Food Additives, which mainly elaborates maximum levels for food additives.
Revisions to the General standard for food additives (GSFA, CXS 192-1995) – Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (INS 475)
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
There were 56 provisions relating to the emulsifiers known as polyglycerol esters in the GSFA. Based on the latest dietary exposure assessments, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) recommended a review of the current uses, use levels and food categories for these additive provisions.
The relevant committee, the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), agreed to reduce use levels for 19 of the 56 provisions. Examples include lowering the level in the food category “Fruit-based desserts, including fruit-flavoured water-based desserts”, from 5000 mg/kg to 100 mg/kg. CCFA also agreed to revoke six provisions, for example, the use in the food category “Steamed breads and buns”. The 49th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission has now adopted those changes.
General standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods (CXS 1-1985) – guidelines on the use of precautionary allergen labelling
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted guidelines on precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) which aim to provide consumers with access to clear and accurate information on the presence of allergens in foods, so that they can make safe food choices, and increase harmonization to facilitate trade.
The guidelines are a significant milestone in food allergen labelling as they promote a risk-based approach, highlighting that the decision to use PAL should be based on the findings of a risk assessment. The guidelines also provide reference doses which serve as the basis for establishing action levels, and indicate that PAL shall only be used when, following the application of appropriate mitigation measures, it is demonstrated that unintended presence of a food allergen is above the action level. The overall aim is to avoid unnecessary use of PAL and ensure that a science and risk-based approach is applied in any decisions to use PAL.
Guidelines on application of food labelling provisions in emergencies
ADOPTED – 6.7.2026
These new guidelines on food labelling provisions in emergencies support a safe and adequate food supply during emergencies by providing principles and general decision-making criteria. They are intended to be used only by competent authorities to determine the flexible application of one or more food labelling requirements in emergencies to maintain a safe and adequate food supply.
They ensure that the food labelling flexibilities applied by competent authorities in such emergencies are temporary, justified, proportionate, and risk-based to protect the health of the consumer and ensure fair practices in food trade in uncertain situations.
Emphasis is placed on the need, when using flexible labelling, to protect vulnerable populations, to avoid introducing health risks, and to secure the agreement of importing countries.
Standard for spices in the form of dried fruits and berries – large cardamom
ADOPTED – 7.7.2026
Large cardamom – or “black cardamom”- is obtained from the fruits of Amomum subulatum Roxb., which belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. This standard defines the quality parameters of the dried or dehydrated pods of these fruits when offered for direct human consumption.
The new standard additionally defines the acceptable food additive, labelling requirements, and maximum levels of contaminants permitted in large cardamom.
The new work for this standard was approved by the 47th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2024. It was led by Bhutan and co-led by India and Nepal and developed and agreed by the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs in the space of just one Committee session.
By establishing clear global rules for quality, additives, and contaminant limits, this standard provides the basis for harmonization and elimination of technical barriers to trade and paves the way for local farmers to take their cash crop to the global stage.
Standard for spices derived from dried or dehydrated fruits and berries – vanilla
ADOPTED – 7.7.2026
The new Codex Standard sets dedicated quality requirements for five primary botanical species (including Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla tahitensis). Originally part of a broader spice standard adopted in 2024, vanilla was developed into a standalone document due to its global importance, and distinct characteristics. The standard not only ensures food safety but also ensures fair and authentic global trade.
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