FROM CODEX TO COURTS: NATIONAL APPROACHES TO FOOD SAFETY GOVERNANCE
Subjects/Theme:
Codex Alimentarius, to national regimes, to public health, to consumer rights, to global trade, and judicial enforcement.Description
Globalization, Food Systems, and Legal Responses:Governance, Justice, and Sustainability in a Changing World
Edited By: Dr. Joydeb Patra, Ms. Saptaparni Raha
E-ISBN: 978-81-685212-2-3
With the rapid growth of trade liberalization, technological innovation and public health threats, food safety governance has become a critical issue for global concern. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which was set up by the FAO and WHO, sets international standards, which are used as a benchmark in national food safety regimes and are recognised under the WTO's Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. However, the national approaches are still different despite this harmonization process, due to the differences in legal traditions, institutional capacities and socio-political priorities. This chapter provides a critical review of the development of global food safety standards and their impact on the national food safety regimes in the United States, the European Union, India and a few other jurisdictions. It brings attention to regulatory bodies like FDA, USDA, EFSA and FSSAI, as well as to the judiciary's contribution in the interpretation of legislation, in determining liability, and in integrating food safety into the wider context of consumer rights and constitutional protections. The landmark cases of the United States v. Park and the rulings of India's Supreme Court on the right to food show how judges fill the gap between formalism and reality. The discussion also covers issues of the day in the regulation of ultra-processed foods, biotechnology innovations, pandemics and digital agriculture. It examines the conflict between global harmonisation and national sovereignty and the power dynamics between the multinational corporations and regulators, in favour of greater international cooperation, more effective national enforcement and greater judicial awareness. Overall, it shows that food safety governance needs to be transformed into a global framework that takes into account local realities, with a view to delivering public health, public trust and sustainable food systems in a fast-changing world.
