Global Food Safety Standards and Contamination

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization in 1963, develops international food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice covering everything from additive limits to labeling and hygiene. Codex standards are not binding on their own, but they are formally referenced by the World Trade Organization's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, giving them substantial influence over international food trade and encouraging convergence among the often-differing national food safety regulations of individual countries.