Food safety, the absence of -or safe, acceptable levels of- hazards in food that may harm the health of consumers.
The theme of this year’s inaugural World Food Safety Day is: food safety is everyone’s business. According to the United Nations, governments, international organisations, the private sector, civil society organisations and other stakeholders can promote food safety by inter alia complying with global food standards, establishing effective regulatory food control systems, providing access to clean water, encouraging good agricultural practices, strengthening the use of food safety management systems by food business operators, and building capacities of consumers to make healthy food choices.
Food safety assures that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain – from production, harvest, processing, storage, distribution, preparation to consumption.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 420,000 people die as a result of foodborne illnesses annually, 125,000 of which are children under the age of five, with people in Africa and Southeast Asia suffering the most. Unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies, disproportionally affecting vulnerable and marginalised peoples while safe food can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goals 2, 3, 12 and 17.
Food safety is a complex process, which starts on the farm and ends with the consumer; it involves all stages of the food chain. At the global level, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the WHO champion food safety. The FAO addresses food safety issues along the food chain. The WHO oversees relationships with the public health sector. A central part of the FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme established to protect consumer health and promote fair practices in food trade is the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). The CAC has a collection of international standards, guidelines and codes of practice which ensure that food is safe and can be traded.
For more on the Word Food Safety Day, see here.
