Rome – The United Nations’ international food standards-setting body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, is meeting on 10 to 14 November 2025 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 48th Session of the Commission will be published below as they are approved.
For more information on the session, visit the CAC48 information page.
Updates to the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA, CXS 192-1995)
ADOPTED – 10.11.2025
More than 500 food additive provisions have been reviewed, with particular attention given to the use of colours in various food categories. As a result of this work, several provisions were revoked, including annatto extracts, bixin-based (INS 160b(i)) in fermented milks (plain), while others were newly adopted, such as annatto extracts, norbixin-based (INS 160b(ii)) in canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit. Some provisions, including the use of erythrosine (INS 127) in canned raspberries and strawberries, remain under consideration. These updates reflect the ongoing commitment to ensuring that food additives included in the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) are safe and technologically justified, in line with the principles outlined in its preamble.
