The history of Codex is important, but one should also understand the structure of Codex Alimentarius in order to understand how it arrives at its decisions.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is the active and controlling arm of Codex. It is the main body that makes recommendations and proposals and is consulted by the FAO and the WHO regarding food safety standards and their implementation. Each year the CAC meets in Rome (at FAO headquarters) and Geneva (WHO headquarters) alternately with delegations from its 182 member countries. The chief delegate to the commission must be a government official or an employee of that country, and it is this individual that decides who will speak for the delegation. No votes are taken at these meetings, as “consensus,” not voting, is the method of decision making.[1]
While the idea of “consensus” may seem reassuring, it is important to note that the Chairman of the Codex committee can prevent a delegate from even being heard at the meeting. If he is unhappy with the opposition he can simply declare that there is none and then that a “consensus” has been reached. This has occurred on numerous occasions, at least in the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses. In some cases this has even taken the form of the Chairman cutting off the microphone of dissenting delegates. An example of this is provided by Ingrid Frazon, the head of the National Health Federation Delegation to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU). Frazon states:
One of the more interesting discussions that took place during the committee meetings had to do with fatty acids in infant formula for special needs. The Japanese delegate questioned why the proposed level of arachidonic acid in infant formula were set to be no less than the levels of DHA. He pointed out that there is exceedingly little arachidonic acid in the breast milk of Japanese mothers and opposed the addition of arachidonic acid in the formula as the proposed formula would force Japanese children to consume levels of arachidonic acid that are foreign to their race and culture. The U.S. delegation claimed that American research shows that the levels of DHA and AA should be the same. One can also wonder if the high levels of arachidonic acid in the breast milk of mothers from industrialized countries could be as a result of their diet. After considerable discussion, the CCNFSDU Chairman Dr. Grossklaus finally came to the conclusion that the committee had reached a consensus and decided in favor of DHA and AA remaining at the same level. Although the microphone was turned off, the whole assembly could hear the voice of the Japanese delegate shouting 'No, no, no, no!'[2]It is obvious from experiences such as the one recounted above that any opposition to the pre-ordained agenda, in the rare instances that any exists, is promptly dealt with. Clearly, Codex is no democracy. The Codex Alimentarius Commission maintains 10 general subject committees[3] that often form their own sub-committees and task forces to tackle specific issues.[4] Codex is also made up of various commodity committees, task forces, and regional coordinating committees.[5] Each of these committees deals with their own detailed product(s) and, in the end, they encompass just about everything that can be physically consumed by human beings. That is, except pharmaceuticals, which Codex does not regulate at all. Each works under the direction of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to which they report and who ultimately approves the work of the committees. Likewise, they all work under the method of “consensus” with no votes taken to determine the final policy.
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