World Food Safety Day
World Food Safety Day is observed annually on June 7. The United Nations declared the observance in 2018 and it is jointly facilitated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). World Food Safety Day aims to draw attention to and inspire action to help prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism, and sustainable development.
Access to safe food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Food safety has a critical role in assuring that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain - from production to harvest, processing, storage, distribution, all the way to preparation and consumption. Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers, and consumers.
We recognize World Food Safety Day as part of our aim to help inform, educate, and improve preparedness, response, and prevention of foodborne diseases within both the regulatory and industry workforce. This international day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe, mainstream food safety in the public agenda, and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.
Past Observances
World Food Safety Day 2022
In collaboration with Environmental Health Australia, we presented a series of live discussions with regulators from around the world. The discussions explored the interconnectivity of food safety and how food is kept safe in communities across the globe.
World Food Safe LiveChat
World Food Safety Day 2022
Panelists
- Govindaraj Dev Kumar | University of Georgia
- Zeineb Bouallegui | Tunisia
- Yashveer Sewraj | South Africa
World Food Safety LiveChat: Environmental Health Australia
Panelists
- Dr. Wessam Atif | Philippines
- Tanya Morrison | New Zealand
- Ruba Sundram Muthusamy | Malaysia
World Food Safety Day 2021
Have you ever wondered what food safety looks like in other countries? In 2021, we teamed up with Environmental Health Australia (EHA) to explore how regulators keep retail food safe all across the globe. This 24-hour event featured an opening address by Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, followed by a series of short conversations with food safety regulators from all around the world, offering a peek into how we keep retail food safe for the global community.
Get a preview of all of our speakers for this event in the compilation video below. We spoke to regulators from all around the world including Iran, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, the U.S., and Jamaica. Their insights, experiences, and passion cross national borders and demonstrate how our global community responds to their unique situations while sharing similar values.
Environmental Health Australia #WFSD2021 YouTube Videos
- Brief Summary | YouTube
- Opening Remarks | YouTube
- Iran: Kamran Presentation | YouTube
- Papua New Guinea: James Interview | YouTube
- Australia and New Zealand: Lydia Presentation | YouTube
- Egypt: A Conversation with Dr. Hussein Mansour | YouTube
- United States of America: A Conversation with Jessica Collado | YouTube
- Jamaica: A Conversation with Linnees Green Baker | YouTube
World Food Safety Day 2020
View a virtual lecture from Robert V. Tauxe, MD, MPH, Director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases as we observe the second annual World Food Safety Day. Dr. Tauxe discussed the state of food safety pre-and post- COVID-19 and provided his perspective on the immediate impact on current foodborne disease surveillance.
World Food Safety Webinar | YouTube
About the Speaker
Dr. Robert Tauxe is the Director of the CDC Division charged with the prevention and control of foodborne, waterborne, and fungal infections. The Division monitors the frequency of these infections in the United States, investigates outbreaks, develops the science, and promotes the policies that will help prevent the disease, disability, and deaths that they cause.
Dr. Tauxe graduated from Yale University in 1975 and received his medical degree from Vanderbilt Medical School. He completed an internal medicine residency, trained at CDC in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and joined CDC staff in 1985. His interests include bacterial enteric diseases, epidemiology and pathogenesis of infectious diseases, epidemiologic and clinical consequences of bacterial genetic exchange, antimicrobial use and resistance to antimicrobial agents, and teaching epidemiologic methods. His faculty appointments include the School of Public Health and the Department of Biology at Emory University, Atlanta. Dr. Tauxe has written/co-authored 301 journal articles, letters, and book chapters.
World Food Safety Day 2019
We celebrated the first annual World Food Safety Day by sharing resources dedicated to educating food safety and environmental health professionals. NEHA is proud to celebrate World Food Safety Day, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Food-related diseases affect tens of millions of people and kill thousands each year. A foodborne illness is caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or beverage. NEHA's food safety programs are dedicated to educating food safety and environmental health professionals. NEHA helps to inform, educate and improve preparedness, response, and prevention of foodborne diseases within both the regulatory and industry workforce. The food safety products and materials we offer can be used for someone just beginning their career in the food industry, or a professional with many years of experience.
- World Health Organization | Webpage
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Codex Alimentarius | Webpage
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration | Webpage