World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2021

A commodity taken for granted by some, a luxury for many others, definitely a source of life but also a source of health concerns, no matter how you put it, the issue of food has been on the table for decades, particularly now that the growth of the population has turned both food security and food safety into a genuine challenge. Against this background, in 2018, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 7 June to be World Food Safety Day. With its fourth anniversary now here, the challenge seems to be far from being overcome. On the contrary, the latest world events have only served to deepen it.

Although not included as a separate item within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), food safety plays a crucial role in promoting health and putting an end to hunger, two of the UN’s 17 SDGs.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are two important international bodies playing a crucial role in supporting global food safety and protecting consumer health. The two have joined forces to supervise food safety concerns alongside food chains on the one hand and to target foodborne diseases via public health systems on the other.

Caused by the consumption of contaminated food or water, foodborne illnesses can be infectious or toxic and are one of the reasons for severe diseases and even fatal cases. It is estimated that nearly 600 million cases of foodborne diseases are recorded worldwide each year, impacting vulnerable and marginalized individuals the most. Moreover, 420,000 people die annually around the globe as a result of consuming contaminated food. Children under five account for 40% of foodborne illnesses with a dramatic toll of 125,000 deaths being documented each year. No improvement in this sector has been recorded for years and this is a matter of serious concern.

Food safety and food security are tightly linked because “unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick,” WHO has warned. The non-observance of both food safety and food security increases the number of affected people to hundreds of millions.

According to the FAO report, State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World in 2020, about 690 million people around the world are hungry, accounting for 8.9% of the global population.

As regards food chains, back in 2017 the FAO warned that “supply chains show weaknesses that threaten people’s food and nutrition security, including inadequate food preservation facilities for perishable foods such as fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods”.

Foodborne diseases hinder social and economic development. According to WHO, low- and middle-income countries lose US$110 billion annually in productivity and medical expenses resulting from the consumption of unsafe food.

The COVID-19 pandemic has done nothing but worsen the situation even further by increasing the number of people affected by food insecurity as well as heightening food security concerns during this period.

If the current trend continues, it is expected that the number of people affected by hunger will surpass 840 million by 2030 even without considering the effects of the pandemic. This makes the achievement of SDG 2 – zero hunger by 2030 – practically impossible. The same applies to SDG 3 – ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

Against this background, on 7 June, FAO and WHO have organized a virtual dialogue to discuss the importance of science in keeping food safe. Conducted under the theme “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow”, World Food Safety Day aims to draw attention and motivate action to support the prevention, identification, and management of foodborne risks.

The online meeting is planned to begin with video messages from FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. To attend the 45-minute online discussion, follow this link.