Australia’s leadership helps the international community capitalise on use of remote…

We are one step closer to developing international guidance for the conduct of remote audit and verification activities.

The move comes after plans to develop principles and guidelines on the use of remote audit and verification in regulatory frameworks were unanimously supported at the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) on 21 – 25 November.

The drive for regulators to use digital methods as part of modern regulatory frameworks came to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, when in-person processes became challenging, in part due to travel constraints. Specific guidance in this space will assist competent authorities across all countries implement consistent use and application of alternative approaches in assessment activities.

For the past 18 months, Australia has been leading a working group with Singapore and Canada to develop a proposal on “use of remote audit and verification in regulatory frameworks”.

Australian delegation leader Nicola Hinder PSM presented the proposal at CAC45, which was attended by delegates from 163 countries and 45 observer organisations.

To read more about the 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting, including papers on all proposals, visit: https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings/detail/en/?meeting=CAC&session=45