The World Health Organization perspective: the International Health Regulations (2005), the Codex Alimentarius and veterinary legislation

摘要

This paper provides information and references on key activities and instruments involving the World Health Organization (WHO) that are relevant in drafting and adopting effective veterinary legislation.The Codex Alimentarius is a joint initiative established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO to harmonise international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice. Codex standards, although non-binding, serve as the bases for many national food standards and related regulations, with the dual purposes of protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade. In the international legislative context, the Codex standards and guidelines are also the references for food safety in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime.