Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV)

The Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) was established in 1987. At the time, it was named the Codex Committee on Tropical Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. It is hosted by the government of Mexico, “the first Committee to be hosted by the Government of a developing country,” as was noted by CAC17. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables were recognized as a priority when the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was established in 1963, and as international trade in fresh fruits and vegetables grew, Member Countries, and particularly developing countries, started to raise the issue of international standards for fruits and vegetables. A discussion at CAC15, in 1983, examined the “need for and feasibility of developing Codex standards for fresh fruits and vegetables of particular interest from a trade point of view, to developing countries,” which concluded that CAC would not at that time pursue international standards for these commodities. 

Mexico’s subsequent report of an Ad hoc intergovernmental consultation held in Mexico City to examine the need for International standards for tropical fresh fruits and vegetables, presented at the 1987 CAC session, led to the establishment of the Codex Committee on Tropical Fruits and Vegetables (CCTFFV). The growth of the global trade in fruits and vegetables was such that in 1995 the word “Tropical” was dropped from the Committee’s name and all related texts.