Codex Advances Food Fraud, Equivalence, and Digitalisation work at CCFICS28

The 28th Session of the Codex Committee on Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS28), held from 11 to 18 October 2026 in Perth, Australia, advanced several texts concerning international food trade and national food control systems.

The Committee completed the Guidelines on the prevention and control of food fraud, which had been adopted at Step 5 by CAC49, and forwarded them for final adoption. The guidelines are intended to complement existing Codex texts by providing specific guidance on food fraud for consideration within national food control systems.

CCFICS also forwarded draft principles and guidelines on the recognition of equivalence of sanitary measures, technical requirements, and national food control systems for adoption at step 5/8. These consolidate several existing Codex texts on equivalence. Draft principles on the digitalisation of national food control systems were also advanced to Step 5/8.

Progress was also made on revisions to Codex guidance on traceability/product tracing and the exchange of information between importing and exporting countries, including an annex aimed at harmonising the design, implementation and updating of establishment lists.

Meanwhile, draft guidance on appeals following the rejection of imported food and on the standardisation of sanitary requirements was returned to electronic working groups for further development. CCFICS also established an electronic working group to further explore principles and guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence and advanced analytical tools in national food control systems.

These outcomes reflect progress across several interconnected aspects of food import and export controls, including fraud prevention, equivalence, traceability, information exchange, and digitalisation. They also mark the start of work to consider how AI could be addressed within national food control systems.