World Food Safety Day: In a bid to defect, manage, and avert foodborne risks and improve health, World Safety Day is marked every year on June 7. The day is observed to raise awareness of health hazards associated with unsafe food and to highlight the hygiene significance in daily life.
Food safety is essential for ensuring proper human health, sustainable development, economic prosperity, and growth in agriculture and tourism as well. It helps in keeping diseases and illnesses, which are caused by unhygienic food, at far. The day is celebrated to draw attention to such issues and mobilize people to take adequate steps to ensure food safety.
World Food Safety Day 2024: Theme
The World Food Safety Day 2024 theme is Safer Food and Better Health. WHO (World Health Organization) has announced this theme and underlines the fact that safer food is the key to better human health.
World Food Safety Day: History
World Food Safety Day was marked by the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) on December 20, 2018, to celebrate the benefits of safe food. The WHO and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations jointly facilitate the observance of the day.
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World Food Safety Day: Significance
According to the UN, around 600 million foodborne illness cases are reported every year which makes unsafe food one of the most concerning threats to human health. Diseases arising from unhygienic food affect the most marginalized sections of society, especially children, women, and victims of conflicts.
These illnesses are caused by viruses, parasites, and bacteria present in contaminated food and water that are often not visible to the plain eye. From harvesting, and processing to storage, and distribution, food has to remain safe before it reaches the consumer.
