Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Groups of Experts on Standardization: Fruit Juices (GEFJ)

In March 1963, the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) recommended that its Working Party on the Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs should work with the newly formed Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) on international standards for fruit juices. By the time CAC met for the first time, this work had already started under the auspices of the Working Party’s Group of Experts on Fruit Juices (GEFJ) in conjunction with the International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers (now International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association, IFU).

There was much work to address on the subject of fruit juices, including analytical methodology, chemometry and identity control, technological advances in the manufacture of fruit juices, and possible revisions and updates to standards and guidelines. Some of these issues would be transferred to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC). The others would be addressed in due course by the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV) and the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS).

GEFJ was abolished at CAC23, when the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Fruit and Vegetable Juices (TFFJ) was established.