World Food Safety Day is observed on June 7th each year to raise awareness about the importance of food safety and to promote measures to prevent, detect, and manage foodborne diseases. It provides an opportunity to highlight the crucial role of safe food in promoting health, ending hunger, reducing poverty, and achieving sustainable development goals.
Aim of this day is to emphasize the collaborative efforts needed from governments, producers, consumers, and other stakeholders to ensure the safety of our food supply chain.
The theme for World food safety day 2023 is “Food standards save lives”. Maintaining food safety includes safety and standard methods from its production, storage and consumption for overall health of adults as well as children, meanwhile preventing food borne illness.
On this day, it is important to reflect on the global challenges related to food safety, such as foodborne illnesses, contamination, adulteration, and improper handling. By raising awareness and taking necessary precautions, we can contribute to a safer and healthier food system for everyone.
Food safety is not only a concern for professionals in the food industry but also for individuals who handle and consume food daily. By following proper food handling and hygiene practices, we can protect ourselves and others from foodborne illnesses and contribute to a safer and more sustainable food supply.
Key objectives of World Food Safety Day:
- Raise awareness: The day aims to increase public awareness and understanding of food safety issues, including the risks associated with unsafe food and the importance of safe food handling practices.
- Promote best practices: World Food Safety Day encourages the adoption of best practices in food production, processing, storage, and distribution to ensure the safety and quality of food.
- Prevent foodborne diseases: It aims to highlight the importance of food safety in preventing foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemical contaminants.
- Strengthen collaboration: The day promotes collaboration among governments, organizations, and individuals involved in food safety to exchange knowledge, share experiences, and improve food safety systems globally.
- Protect consumer rights: World Food Safety Day emphasizes the need for consumer protection and the right to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food.
World Food Safety day serves as an opportunity to share knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions related to food safety. These practices may include safe and clean water for food preparation, use of pesticide and chemical free food items, innovation and researches on more nature and health friendly methods for production, storage and consumption of food. Keeping in mind food safety, not only organizations and groups but individuals can also prevent many food borne illnesses and contribute to building up of healthier population mentally, physically and environmentally also.
