BIZ-SPICES-MEET

The Codex Committee on

Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) would hold its 4th session

here from January 21 to deliberate on draft standards for

select spices and herbs.

The five-day event would brainstorm on the draft

standards for oregano, basil, ginger, garlic, chilli pepper

among others which are in the form of reports of Electronic

Working Groups (eWGs) established by the previous session held

at Chennai in February 2017, a press release here said.

Kerala Governor P Sathasivam would inaugurate the

session, while Union Commerce Minister, Suresh Prabhu, would

deliver the presidential address.

The upcoming session is expected to adopt the draft

standards for select spices and herbs and pave the way for

adoption of more standards that would remove trade barriers

and strengthen the global food sector without compromising on

safety, Secretary of Spices Board, Dr M K Shanmuga Sundaram

said.

Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN's

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health

Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food

Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and

ensure fair practices in the food trade.

To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and

culinary herbs, and to consult with other international

organisations in the standards development process, CCSCH was

formed in 2013 with support of over 100 countries with India

as the host country and Spices Board as the Secretariat for

organising the sessions of the committee.