Codex committees, when developing standards, apply risk analysis and rely on the independent scientific advice provided by expert bodies organized by FAO/WHO. These bodies also give direct advice to Member Governments.

This section provides information on the scientific basis for Codex work. It gives an overview of risk analysis within the framework of Codex, and outlines the functions of the three FAO/WHO expert committees: the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA); the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR); and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA); and on other scientific advice provided by FAO/WHO. Risk analysis is fundamental to the scientific basis of Codex food safety standards. It also provides information on how countries can request, access and contribute data to this process. It is due to its scientific basis that Codex texts are considered by WTO as the international reference for food safety standards.