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International Baby Food Action Network – IBFAN
Upcoming Codex Nutrition meeting in Nuremberg
CCNFSDU45 – The 45th Session of the Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses will be held in Nuremberg, Germany on 2 – 6 November 2026.
The 45th Session of the Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU45) will be held in Nuremberg, Germany on 2 – 6 November 2026.
Sessions will take place from Monday, 2 November to Wednesday, 4 November 2026, and the adoption of the Report will take place on Friday, 6 November 2026.
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish and German during the plenary sessions and report adoption.
Practical information for delegates and the tentative timetable will be available here when it becomes available.
CCNFSDU45
Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
INFORMATION FOR DELEGATES
For more information, visit the official website at FAO – CCNFSDU45
Source: FAO, accessed on 20.08.2026
WORKING GROUPS (WG)
The virtual working group (VWG) and physical working groups (PWG) will take place as follows:
- VWG (Tuesday, 27 October 2026): NRVs-R for persons aged 6-36 months ; and
- PWGs (Sunday, 1 November 2026): Standard for foods for older infants and young children as well as Review and prioritization of new work proposals
IBFAN in the Codex Alimentarius
While preparations for CCNFSDU45 continue, explore IBFAN’s longstanding engagement in Codex Alimentarius and why these global standard-setting meetings matter for breastfeeding, child health and the public interest.
Emergencies, digital technology and baby foods on the Codex:
"Our maternity hospitals were flooded with breastmilk substitutes brought in by humanitarian aid agencies. This nearly destryed our breastfeeding programmes."
Dr. Anahit Demirchian, Chief of the National Programme of Promotion and protection of Breastfeeding, Armenia, 1996.
Infant Feeding in Emergencies, WEMOS/GIFA 2001
- Food for Emergencies. After getting only minimal safeguards to stop commercial exploitation into a new proposal from the USA that will allow exemptions on labelling of foods for emergencies, we called for it to be reconsidered and sent back to the Labelling Committee. Ghana also expressed concern but did not ask for the proposal to be returned. While flexibility (on country of origin etc) may be needed to allow delivery of essential products, if baby feeding products are idealised or if warnings and instructions for use are unclear or in the wrong language, it can literally be a matter of life or death for young children. Meanwhile corporations and donors enjoy an undeserved humanitarian ‘halo”effect. In emergencies, child deaths can be two to 70 times higher than the average rate. Declaring an emergency is a politically sensitive issue and it is a matter of record that the commercial exploitation of emergencies has opened up markets for inappropriate products and undermined breastfeeding. (2)
- E-commerce and Technology We also tried to strengthen new guidelines on e-commerce and labelling through technology in order to protect privacy, prevent the harvesting of personal data and stop digital labelling leading purchasers to inappropriate material.(3)
- New standard on baby foods. CAC47 agreed that this new standard should go ahead. The old canned food standard has no limits on sugar and the 2006 baby cereal standard allows up to 30%. We called for the new standard to be in line with WHO recommendations, with all added sugars, sweeteners and synthetic additives removed and strict labelling and marketing safeguards – including digital. Mexico expressed concern that the development of the standard should not lead to the promotion of processed foods as an alternative to resolving nutrition conditions for older infants and young children or lead to replacement of home-based foods or affect the promotion of breastfeeding.
Important statements from IBFAN
Agenda Item 5: Labelling Exemptions in Emergencies
Codex Guidelines open the door to commercial exploitation.
Day 3 – 27/11/2024
Original video excerpt from the official Codex Alimentarius Channel.
Agenda Item 5: New Codex standard on baby foods
IBFAN calls for strict safeguards in line with WHO so marketing does not undermine breastfeeding and normal bio-diverse family foods.
Day 3 – 27/11/2024
Original video excerpt from the official Codex Alimentarius Channel.
Agenda Item 12: WHO FAO report
IBFAN welcomes WHO’s work and clarifies that nothing forces mothers to breastfeed. Expresses caution and marketing safeguards on new cell-based formulas that mimmick human milk.
Day 4 – 28/11/2024
Original video excerpt from the official Codex Alimentarius Channel.
Agenda Item 13: Potential webcasting of Executive meeting
IBFAN reminds Codex that it cannot claim to be transparent, then keep important meetings private.
Day 4 – 28/11/2024
Original video excerpt from the official Codex Alimentarius Channel.
Side Event on Labelling
IBFAN highlights the risks of weak Codex standards on national policy setting and the need for more health advocates. Codex also needs to help governments control UPFs.
Side Event – 29/11/2024
Original video excerpt from the official Codex Alimentarius Channel.
Codex Photos Copyright: © FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius
