Codex date set for milk agenda talks

The meeting, the eighth to focus solely on milk products, is part of an ongoing programme to create international food safety standards under the Codex​ Alimentarius, a body set up by the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation. These standards could eventually affect the way processors operate worldwide as they become incorporated into national laws. Subjects to be covered during the talks will include stricter definitions for processed cheese, including a list of raw materials and other ingredient that are permitted for use in their formulation. Devising a draft model export certificate for milk and milk products will also be on the agenda, following a decision made during the last meeting to establish a European Union-led physical working group to oversee them. The group will meet the day before the talks commence to consider current proposals for the draft certificate. Additive usage in fermented milks is also expected to come under the spotlight, with continued debate over the maximum levels of individual products that can be used during production. The talks will hope to expand the list of acidity regulators, packing gases, stabilizers, and thickeners already approved for use in heat-treated fermented milks from previous meetings.