The 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) opened in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, on Mar 25. More than 300 delegates from 48 member states, one member organization (EU) and 33 international organizations participated in the session.

The conference is the 13th meeting in China since it has been acting as the host country for the CCFA. The conference lasted for five days, focusing on review of the General Standards for Food Additives (GSFA), the International Number System (INS), the priority assessment food additives list by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and the quality and specification of food additives. The conference also reviewed more than 400 regulations on international food additive use.

The meeting was hosted by the National Health Commission and organized by China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. 

Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, Wang Zhonglin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, and Sun Jiye, vice-governor of Shandong province, met with heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) on the opening day. 

Li Bin (6th L, front), vice-minister of the National Health Commission, poses a group photo with the conference's representatives. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

The 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) opened in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, on Mar 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]