Co-authored by Dr. Steve Suppan and former IATP board member Rod Leonard.

This week, a little known international body called the Codex Alimentarius Commission will meet to discuss its mandate to set food standards for adoption in its 170 member countries. Among the standards and guidelines that Codex negotiates are recommendations on safe levels of additives, contaminants, animal drug residues and pesticide residues in foods. This week's meeting may change radically the way Codex operates to protect consumer health and to ensure that standards are not applied unfairly to restrict trade.