June 7: World Food Safety Day

Santo Domingo.- The World Food Safety Day, which we celebrate on June 7, aims to raise awareness and inspire actions to help prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are the UN entities responsible for coordinating the celebration of the Day in collaboration with Member States and other relevant organizations.

This commemoration contributes to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism, and sustainable development.

This international day serves to increase efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe, to mainstream food safety in the public agenda, and to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.

The theme for 2023 is:  “Food safety is everyone’s business”, which aims to raise awareness globally about food safety and call on countries and decision-makers, the private sector, civil society, UN organizations, and the general public to take action.

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The way food is produced, stored, handled, and consumed affects its safety. Complying with global food standards, establishing effective food control regulations that include emergency preparedness and response, providing access to clean water, applying good agricultural practices (terrestrial, aquatic, livestock, and horticultural), encouraging the use of food safety management systems by food business operators, and educating consumers on making healthy food choices are some of the ways in which governments, international organizations, scientists, the private sector, and civil society work to ensure food safety.

Did you know…?

• Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases.
• According to recent estimates, the impact of unsafe food costs low- and middle-income economies around $95 billion in lost productivity each year.
• Good hygiene practices in the food and agricultural sectors help reduce the emergence and spread of foodborne diseases.