World Food Safety Day is celebrated on 7 June every year to sensitize people about the importance of safe food and support action to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks to improve human health.
The United Nations General Assembly established World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue. WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day.
This year’s theme, “Safer food, better health”, underlines the role of safe, nutritious food in ensuring the health and well-being of people and calls for a set of specific actions to make food safer.
The campaign stresses that there is a need to transform food systems in a manner to prevent most foodborne diseases. Food systems policy-makers, practitioners and investors all have a crucial role to reorient their activities to increase the sustainable production and consumption of safe foods to improve health outcomes.
Foodborne diseases affect one in ten people worldwide each year. Unsafe foods cause many diseases and contribute to other poor health conditions, such as impaired growth and development, micronutrient deficiencies, non-communicable or communicable diseases and mental illness. Safe food is one of the most critical elements for keeping us in good health.
We all have a role to play; whether we grow, process, transport, store, sell, buy, prepare or serve food, food safety is in our hands. At home, practice safe food handling with five keys to safer food- keep clean, separate raw and cooked foods, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures and use safe water and raw materials.
This international day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to promote food safety and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.
#WorldFoodSafetyDay
References:
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-food-safety-day/2022
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-food-safety-day/2022/overview
