On 7 June 2022, the United Nations mark the fourth global World Food Safety Day to draw attention to and mobilize action to prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks and improve human health.
This year’s World Food Safety Day highlights the theme “Safer food, better health”. Safe food is essential to human health and well-being and is one of the most critical guarantors of good health. The benefits of safe food include improved nutrition and reduced absenteeism in schools and in the workplace.
Foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year. There are over 200 of these diseases, ranging from diarrhea to cancer.
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, in collaboration with the Member States and other stakeholders.
On this day, WHO calls for a set of specific actions in multiple sectors to make food safer.
Policymakers need to support policy measures to strengthen national food safety systems and ensure they comply with food safety standards, as well as engage in multi-sectoral collaboration at the local, national, regional, and global levels.
Food businesses must comply with international food standards and engage employees, suppliers and other stakeholders to grow and develop a food safety culture.
At the same time, educational institutions and workplaces need to promote safe food handling and support food safety. And consumers need to practice safe food handling at home and keep informed and promote food safety.
World Food Safety Day 2022 is observed ten days after the adoption of the updated WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety, a milestone in the work to promote health, keep the world safe and protect the vulnerable.