World Food Safety Day 2023 theme highlights the importance of food standards in protecting public health WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY

By Catherine Odhiambo

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with the World Health Organization (WHO) have unveiled “Food standards save lives” as the theme for the 2023 World Food Safety day. The theme is aimed at recognizing the importance of food standards across the world in keeping consumers safe, and in underpinning equitable trade in food.

Now in its fifth year, the International Food Safety Day is aimed at encouraging everyone to adopt and accept food safety standards across the food supply chain, from the producer to the consumer FAO and WHO were given special responsibility by the United Nations

(UN) to promote food safety and its significance globally. In turn, the two bodies resolved that every year, June 7, will be observed as World Food Safety Day. A resolution designating June 7 each year as “celebrating the myriad benefits of safe food” was approved by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2018. Almost two months later, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution designating June 7 of each year as World Food Safety Day.

In 2022, the event was held under the theme, “Safer food, better health”.

Corinna Hawkes, Director of the FAO Food Systems and Food Safety Division, invites participation in World Food Safety Day this year in a dedicated video message.

“FAO supports countries to transform agri-food systems so that they benefit people and the planet,” she says in the video, noting that policymakers, practitioners, and investors should reorient their activities to increase the sustainable production and consumption of safe foods.

Prior to the 7 June observance, an event guide has been released in all six official UN languages to provide an overview of the theme, facts and numbers, event ideas, and key messages that might be used to promote awareness and motivate action on World Food Safety Day.

The purpose of International Food Safety Day is to encourage everyone to adopt and accept food safety standards across the food supply chain, from the producer to the consumer. This will aid in lowering the almost wholly preventable incidence of foodborne illness.

“We tend to think about food safety only when we get sick, but we should think more often because foodborne diseases are entirely preventable. Let me tell you that behind the scenes, countless people work to make sure that our food production follows established food safety practices,” says Dr. Maria Neira, Assistant Director General, Universal Health Coverage/Healthier Populations at WHO, in a promotional video.

Some of the basic tenets FAO and WHO will be advocating during the 2023 World Food Safety Day include; ‘There is no food security without food safety’, ‘Food safety has a direct impact on health’, ‘Science is key to sound food safety management’, ‘Food safety impacts positively on economies and livelihoods’, ‘Food standards protect consumers’, ‘Food standards help producers’, ‘Science underpins food standards’, and ‘Everyone is a risk manager.’

Food Standards The Bedrock Of Trust

WHO estimates that around 420,000 people around the world die every year after consuming contaminated food, while children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 125, 000 deaths every year. Moreover, contaminated food hinders the growth of many middleand lower-income economies, which suffer losses of about US$110 billion due to incapacity, serious illnesses, or even early death.

It is on this background that FAO and WHO came together to establish the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme and the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1963. The Commission was established to steer the development of international food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. The Commission also promotes the coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

Codex food safety standards, guidelines, and recommendations are recognized as the reference for food safety in the World Trade Organization Sanitary and Phytosanitary (WTO SPS) Agreement. Codex standards are also taken into account as international standards in the implementation of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement.

Food standards help to guarantee the safety and quality of food. They offer guidance to farmers and food processors on how to handle food in a hygienic manner. They specify the maximum levels of additives, contaminants, residues of pesticides, and veterinary drugs that can safely be consumed by all. Standards also outline how food should be measured, packaged, and transported safely. Consumers can determine whether the product is good for them thanks to the implementation of standards for things like nutrition and allergen labeling.

“Food safety standards protect everyone’s life. They are key to ensuring safety and quality. That’s why the WHO together with FAO leads global expert groups and provides scientific advice to develop international food safety standards to protect consumers’ health,” says Dr. Maria Neira.

“Safe food allows the uptake of nutrients and promotes human development. Nobody should die from eating food. These are preventable things,”

SIX DECADES ON; CODEX STANDARDS STILL AT THE HEART OF FOOD SAFETY

Through an open and inclusive process, Codex technical committees strive to create texts for standards, recommendations, and codes of practice. The texts are created with input from 243 observer organizations, including business and consumer associations, and are supported by scientific guidance from international expert panels led by FAO and WHO. The "food code" expands every year as new requirements are added and current standards are revised when new information becomes available.

A total of 236 standards, 84 guidelines, 56 codes of practice, 126 maximum levels for contaminants in food, and more than 10,000 quantitative standards covering maximum levels for food additives and maximum residue limits for pesticides and veterinary drugs in food have been created by Codex to date.

“In 2023, as Codex turns 60, we celebrate food standards for defining the path to safe food for everyone everywhere,” voices the Commission.

To this end, World Food Safety Day aims to transform food systems to deliver better health sustainably and prevent foodborne diseases. This day also provides an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe and reduce the burden of foodborne illnesses globally.

Even as we prepare to mark this year’s edition, FAO and WHO continue to echo that “Food Safety is everyone’s business”. “No matter who you are or what you do, you play an important role in making sure food is safe to eat,” they say.