Fats and Oils
Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (Host Government - Malaysia)
The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) is responsible for elaborating standards for fats and oils of animal, vegetable and marine origin including margarine and olive oil.
Existing Codex Standards
Standards relating to fats and oils* that have been endorsed and adopted into the international food code include standards on:
- Edible Fats and Oils not Covered by Individual Standards
- Margarine
- Olive Oil, Virgin and Refined, and Refined Olive-pomace Oil
- Named Vegetable Oils
- Named Animal Fats
- Storage and Transport of Edible Oils and Fats in Bulk
* This is an indicative list only. For a full list of standards approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, please consult its Official List of Standards.
Outcomes from the 32nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
The 32nd Commission adopted, at Step 8, the Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oil: Inclusion of rice Bran Oil.
The Commission also adopted, at Step 5, the:
- Proposed draft amendment to the Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport f Edible Fats and Oils in Bulk: Proposed draft criteria to assess the acceptability of substances for inclusion in a list of acceptable previous cargoes
- Proposed draft amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oil: Inclusion of Palm Kernel Olein and Palm Kernel Stearin
The 32nd Commission approved the discontinuation of Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils on total arotenoids in unbleached palm oil (N01-2005).
Last Meeting
The 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils was held in. At this meeting the Committee agreed to:
- advance to Step 8 the Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oil: Inclusion of Rice Bran Oil
- advance to Step 5 the Proposed Draft Criteria to Asses the Acceptability of Substances for Inclusion in a List of Acceptable Previous Cargos
- advance to Step 5 the Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oil: Inclusion of Palm Kernel Olein and Palm Kernel Stearin
- propose to discontinue work on the amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils on total carotenoids in unbleached palm oil
- propose a revised list of additives in the standards for fats and oils for endorsement by the Committee on Food Additives and adoption by the Commission
- request the Commission to approve the amendment to the section on Contaminants in the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils to replace it with the standard language in the Format for Codex Commodity Standards.
The Committee also agreed to:
- retain at Step 7 the Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargos and to return to Step 3 the Proposed Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes for comments and consideration at the next session
- return to Step 3 the Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils on the level of linolenic acid and related footnote
- consider further the proposal for future work on the composition and naming of fatty acid modified vegetable oils.
Download the report from this meeting.
Next Meeting
The 22nd Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils has been scheduled to be held in Malaysia in February 2011. The exact venue and date is currently being determined by the host country and will be advised as soon as possible.
Download the agenda for this meeting.