World Food Safety Day – June 7

On 7 June 2021 United Nations will be celebrating its third World Food Safety Day after it was adopted by United Nations General Assembly in December 2018.

This year’s World Food Safety Day 2024 theme is, “Food safety: prepare for the unexpected“.

It is an effort to ensure that we think about the food that we eat is safe or not. Unsafe food is a threat to our health and well-being and is a cause for a foodborne illness that occurs annually.

The UN has designated two of its agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to lead efforts in promoting food safety around the world.

FAO and WHO are joining forces to assist countries to prevent, manage and respond to risks along the food supply chain, working with food producers and vendors, regulatory authorities, and civil society stakeholders, whether the food is domestically produced or imported.

“Whether you are a farmer, farm supplier, food processor, transporter, marketer or consumer, food safety is your business,” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said. “There is no food security without food safety,” he said.

The focus is on creating awareness of hygiene and food safety through education. Without knowledge, there can be no understanding of food safety.

How it Started

It started at the FERG – the Symposium on the Global Burden of Foodborne diseases – in Amsterdam on 15 December 2015, when the idea was first placed. In 2016 Codex Alimentarius Commission agreed to set a World Food Safety Day on a permanent basis. In 2017 World Health Organization expressed its support, and the proposal was unveiled in New York in July 2018.

What is Food Safety

Food Safety can be defined as handling, preparing, and storing food or drink in a way that best reduces the risk of consumers becoming sick from the food-borne disease. The principles of food safety aim to prevent food from becoming contaminated and causing food poisoning. With this in mind, ensuring that food is safe for human consumption is likely the most critical part of the food preparation process.

Getting involved

Everyone can get involved as the World Health Organisation (WHO) details a few simple ‘keys’ to reduce the risk of contaminated food at an individual level. Maintain hygiene and eat properly cooked food and should be stored safely so that they remain safe to eat afterward.