7th Session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) Held at Kochi

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In this session, quality standards for 5 spices, namely small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allpice and star anise were finalised.
- CCSCH has forwarded these 5 standards to Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) recommending for adoption as full-fledged Codex standards.
- For first time ever in CCSCH, strategy of grouping of spices was successfully implemented.

About CCSCH
- Establishment: CCSCH was established as one of the Commodity Committees under CAC in 2013.
- Host: India hosts CCSCH since the beginning and Spices Board India (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) serves as the Secretariat organization.
- Term of reference :
  - To elaborate worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs in their dried and dehydrated state.
  - Consult with international organizations in the standards development process to avoid duplication.

Codex Standards
- About: These are international food texts, i.e. standards, codes of practice, codes of hygienic practice, guidelines and other recommendations.
- Nature: Codex texts are voluntary and do not have binding effect on national food legislation.
- Codex and WTO: WTO Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) encouraged WTO members to harmonise national regulations with international standards.

Genesis: An international food standards body established jointly by Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) and WHO in 1963.
Headquarter: Rome
Objective: Protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.
- CAC conducts its work through various Codex committees, including CCSCH, hosted by different member countries.
Members: 189 Codex Members including India (since 1964).