Building the Ecosystem for Adoption: Turning Codex Guidelines into Practice in Traditional Markets

In November 2024, the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted the Guidelines for Food Hygiene Control Measures in Traditional Markets for Food (CXG 103-2024) — a landmark standard designed to raise the bar on food safety where it matters most. Traditional markets are the backbone of food supply for billions of people, particularly across Africa and Asia. They are vibrant, diverse, and essential — but they are also hotspots for foodborne illness and, in some cases, zoonotic risks. 

You can read the full Codex guidelines here: Codex CXG 103-2024: Guidelines for Food Hygiene Control Measures in Traditional Markets for Food 

This is a major step forward. But guidelines on paper don’t change practices on the ground. For meaningful adoption, we need what we call an ecosystem for adoption — a set of reinforcing conditions that make food safety compliance not just possible, but profitable and sustainable. 

The Ecosystem for Adoption 

The Codex guidelines are ambitious, but they will only succeed if countries can create the right conditions for vendors and consumers to adopt them in practice. We describe this as building an ecosystem for adoption — a set of interlocking elements that reinforce one another and make food safety not only feasible, but beneficial. 

At the center of this ecosystem are the vendors themselves. They are the ones who ultimately decide whether to change behavior and invest in safer practices. Yet for many vendors operating on thin margins, compliance carries costs — from protective clothing to recordkeeping to cleaning routines. Unless vendors see a clear return on that investment, adoption will be limited. Incentives matter, and those incentives are strongest when food safety is tied to tangible business benefits such as reduced spoilage, stronger customer loyalty, or preferential access to better stalls and buyers. 

For incentives to work, however, consumers must be able to recognize and reward compliance. If safer food is sold alongside unsafe food without any signal of difference, vendors have little reason to improve. That is why branding, certification seals, and public awareness campaigns are so critical. They allow consumers to distinguish and value safer products, and they build trust that higher prices or loyalty are justified by legitimate standards and fair inspections. 

At the same time, compliance cannot happen without infrastructure. Vendors cannot maintain hygiene without clean water to wash produce and hands, proper drainage to manage waste, or reliable energy to power refrigeration and protect perishable products. In many traditional markets, these basic services are missing. Governments and international partners must therefore prioritize investments in sanitation, energy, and transport links. Even modest upgrades to market infrastructure — handwashing stations, cold storage units, improved roofing — can dramatically reduce risks and make compliance attainable. 

Finally, the ecosystem depends on effective governance and accountability. Market authorities and local committees have a unique role in bridging the gap between regulators, vendors, and consumers. They can provide oversight that is transparent and equitable, reducing the risk that inspections are applied arbitrarily or that only well-connected vendors benefit. When governance is inclusive and fair, it creates an enabling environment where incentives, consumer trust, and infrastructure investments reinforce one another. 

Taken together, these elements form an ecosystem in which adoption of the Codex guidelines becomes possible. More importantly, they make adoption worthwhile — aligning the goals of safer food, healthier communities, and stronger livelihoods. 

Lessons from Our Work at FES 

At Food Enterprise Solutions (FES), we have seen these dynamics firsthand in our work with food enterprises and vendors around the world. Our experience shows that food safety can be more than a regulatory burden — it can be a business advantage. 

Some key lessons: 

• Food safety sells. Vendors who improve hygiene and safety practices often gain access to more customers and new buyers. 

• The cost of non-compliance is high. Spoiled goods, consumer distrust, and lost opportunities can be more expensive than investing in safety. 

• Peer effects drive change. When early adopters succeed, others follow, helping to build a food safety culture. 

• Partnerships multiply impact. Working with local associations, governments, and development partners creates momentum for sustained change. 

  
  

FES’ Business Drivers for Food Safety (BD4FS) project demonstrated how entrepreneurs are more likely to adopt food safety standards when they see clear business benefits. The same principle applies to traditional markets: when food safety becomes a driver of opportunity, adoption accelerates. 

Moving Forward 

The Codex guidelines (CXG 103-2024) provide the framework. But turning them into safer markets and healthier communities requires building the ecosystem for adoption — aligning vendor incentives, consumer trust, infrastructure, and governance. 

At FES, our work has shown that when food safety aligns with business opportunity, entrepreneurs respond. Now is the time to apply this approach to traditional markets, ensuring that food safety improvements not only protect health but also strengthen livelihoods. 

Because when food safety works for business, everyone wins — vendors, consumers, governments, and communities alike.