Today is 2nd World Food Safety Day

The second World Food Safety Day (WFSD) will be celebrated on 7 June 2020 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development. 

 Following the success of the first celebration in 2019, this year again WFSD reinforces the call to strengthen commitment to scale up food safety made by the Addis Ababa Conference and the Geneva Forum in 2019 under the umbrella of “The Future of Food Safety”.  WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to facilitate Member States efforts to celebrate the World Food Safety Day.

Under the theme “Food safety, everyone’s business”, the action oriented campaign will promote global food safety awareness and call upon countries and decision makers, the private sector, civil society, UN organizations and the general public to take action.

Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers and consumers.  Everybody has a role to play from farm to table to ensure the food we consume is safe and will not cause damages to our health.  Through the World Food Safety Day, WHO pursues its efforts to mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.

Campaign:

• 1-Ensure it’s safe – Government must ensure safe and nutritious food for all

2 – Grow it safe – Agriculture and food producers need to adopt good practices

3 – Keep it safe – Business operators must make sure food is safe

4 – Eat it safe: All consumers have a right to safe, healthy and nutritious food

5 – Team up for safety – Food Safety is a shared responsibility

Food Safety

The great majority of people will experience a foodborne disease at some point in their lives. This highlights the importance of making sure the food we eat is not contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals.

Food can become contaminated at any point during production, distribution and preparation. Everyone along the production chain, from producer to consumer, has a role to play to ensure the food we eat does not cause diseases.©

Consumers must be well informed on food safety practices

People should make informed and wise food choices and adopt adequate behaviors. They should know common food hazards and how to handle food safely, using the information provided in food labelling.©

More than 200 diseases are spread through food

1 in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food, and 420 000 people die each year as a result. Children under 5 years of age are at particularly high risk, with some 125 000 young children dying from foodborne diseases every year. Proper food preparation can prevent most foodborne diseases.