Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex)

International (FAO/WHO) · International reference standard — adopted voluntarily by members · Established 1963 · Authored by Karen Pendergrass, Institute for Contaminant Standards · www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius

Quick read

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is the FAO/WHO body that sets voluntary international food standards, including maximum levels (MLs) for contaminants in specific foods. Codex MLs are reference standards adopted at members’ discretion and used as the benchmark in international trade; they are not automatically binding, but they anchor national limits worldwide and carry weight under WTO agreements.

Mandate & scope

Established in 1963 by the FAO and WHO, the Codex Alimentarius Commission develops harmonized international food standards. Its Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) sets maximum levels for heavy metals in defined commodities, drawing on JECFA’s toxicological assessments. The Index tracks Codex maximum levels for cadmium across several foods and the long-standing tin limit for canned foods (CXS 193-1995). Codex standards are voluntary — members may adopt, adapt, or exceed them — but because they are recognized reference points under the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, they strongly influence national maximum levels and cross-border trade. In practice many jurisdictions align their limits with Codex unless they choose a more precautionary value.

Positions across metals

Where it diverges

Codex maximum levels are concentration limits in specific foods (mg/kg), so they are not directly comparable with the intake-based guidance of JECFA, even though Codex relies on JECFA’s assessments to derive them. Codex MLs typically sit close to, or are mirrored by, EU and national maximum levels, since many jurisdictions align with Codex for trade reasons; where the EU sets a tighter value, it reflects a more precautionary regional policy rather than a different toxicological reading.

Cadmium

Tin

Update log

Key documents

References

Positions, the update log, and key documents above are generated from the per-instrument regulation pages this body issues, via tools/build-regulator-pages.mjs. The wiki reports what Codex has published; it does not endorse it. See HMTc separation policy for why reporting regulatory values is kept architecturally separate from certification threshold-setting.