Elected officers
Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the Commission
Rule III of the rules of procedures of the Codex Alimentarius Commission states that the Commission shall elect a Chairperson and three Vice-Chairpersons from its Members. These officers are elected at each session and hold office from the end of the session at which they were elected until the end of the following regular session. They can be re-elected twice.
Current Officers
Chairperson Allan Azegele
Allan Azegele is a veterinarian with over 30 years’ experience in public service where he has focused on policy, capacity building, official controls and standards development in food safety. As Kenya's Director of Veterinary Services he leads the country's overall strategic policy direction and implementation of veterinary services and provides high-level technical oversight of veterinary regulations. He has been involved in Codex work since 2006, contributing to the work of various Codex subsidiary bodies. He is committed to serving with inclusivity and transparency to ensure Codex remains the global benchmark for food safety and international trade.
Email:
Phone: +254 722 968 989
Vice-Chairperson Jing Tian
Jing Tian received her PhD degree on nutrition and food hygiene. She is currently Director of the International Food Safety Standards Division at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. She has more than 20 years' experience, mainly focused on China's national food safety standards, Codex standards and the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). She currently serves as Secretary of the Secretariat of the National Codex Committee and Codex Committee on Food Additives. She was Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCASIA) between 2020 and 2024, and devoted herself to regional food standards coordination, as well as to capacity building of CCASIA Members.
Email:
Phone: +86 13911037169
Vice-Chairperson Khalid Alzahrani
Khalid Alzahrani has over 16 years of experience with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), where he currently serves as the Head of International Communication for Food Standards. He specializes in food standard setting and has worked with international and regional organizations, including the WTO on matters relating to sanitary and phytosanitary issues and technical barriers to trade. Khalid has been an active member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Arab Industrial Development, Standardization and Mining Organization (AIDSMO), and the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (GSO), and between 2021 and 2024, he served as Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for the Near East. He has been involved in Codex committees since 2013, contributing his expertise to global food safety and standards initiatives.
Email:
Phone: +966 563939967
Vice-Chairperson Betül Vazgeçer
Betül Vazgeçer embarked on her professional journey as a food engineer, enhancing her expertise through master’s and doctoral studies on food microbiology and foodborne pathogens. Following her academic endeavours, she joined the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. With her 30 years of experience in food safety and 20 years in the Turkish Codex Contact Point team, she played an important role in shaping both national legislation and international food safety standards on contaminants, pesticides, microbiology, baby foods, labelling and veterinary drugs, among others. She also led international multidisciplinary projects aimed at strengthening Codex structures.
Phone: +90 533 747 2457
