World Food Safety Day: Making Safe, Healthy Food Possible

June 7, 2021 is the third-annual World Food Safety Day (WFSD), a global celebration raising awareness that safe, healthy and nutritious food is everyone’s right.

The World Health Organization (WHO) partnered with Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations (FAO) to develop World Food Safety Day, which aims to prevent, detect and manage food-borne risks.

This year’s theme, “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow,” is all about meeting the needs of the future by recognising the connections between the health of people, plants, animals, ecosystems and the economy.

Food-borne illness affects us all

Each year, food-borne illnesses cost low- and middle-income economies an estimated $95 billion in lost productivity. In Australia, roughly 1 in 5 people suffer from these illnesses each year, with more than 30,000 hospitalisations and 80 to 90 deaths.

Food-borne diseases are a global problem affecting people of all ages and backgrounds, especially those under the age of five and individuals living in low-income countries. With that in mind, last year the World Health Assembly adopted a decision to further strengthen food safety efforts to reduce the impact of food-borne diseases.

“Safe, healthy and nutritious food is everyone’s right,” says Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety with the World Health Organization (WHO). “Our latest data show that 600 million people around the world still get sick every year from eating contaminated food.”

Working today for a better tomorrow

The good news, says Dr. Branca, is that most food-borne disease is preventable. You can take real steps to keep foods safe. Whether you are a farmer, a business owner, a cook or a consumer, you have a crucial role to play in preventing food-borne illness and safeguarding the future.

Here’s how:

1. Ensure it’s safe: The government must ensure food is not only nutritious, but safe for everyone.
2. Grow it safe: Safe food begins with good agriculture and production practices.
3. Keep it safe: Business operators need to ensure all food handling is conducted in a safe manner.
4. Know what’s safe: Education is key — consumers must educate themselves on what food is safe and healthy.
5. Team up for food safety: Working together means we all share in the efforts to make safe, healthy food a priority.

About the Australian Institute of Food Safety

The Australian Institute of Food Safety (AIFS) takes pride in providing food safety training and resources to thousands of businesses and to the general public.

Our mission is to reduce food-borne illness in Australia through education, promotion and advocacy for better food training. It takes only a few hours to educate employees on how to spot the causes of illness and prevent outbreaks. At AIFS, we firmly believe that food safety education is the key to achieving our goal.