World Food Safety Day, 2025

Anupam Gogoi

(anupamgogoi.2009@rediffmail.com)

All living organisms, including humans, need to consume food which contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins or minerals to meet the requirements of bodily functions, provide energy, maintain life or stimulate growth. Food is the basic necessity without which a living organism cannot sustain itself. It is thus obvious that the food that we consume must be safe and wholesome, which is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. It is essential and critical to ensure that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain - from production to harvest, processing, storage, distribution, preparation and consumption.

However, the current statistics on the availability of safe and wholesome food in the world are very alarming. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. It also creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, the elderly and the sick. Every year, there are approximately 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses, and about 4,20,000 people around the world die every year after eating contaminated food. Salmonella, Campylobacter and Escherichia coli are some of the common foodborne pathogens that affect millions of people annually, sometimes with severe and fatal outcomes. Vibrio cholerae can infect people through contaminated water or food. Viruses and parasites similarly can be transmitted through food consumption and may lead to several foodborne infections.

 In India, unsafe food costs as high as $15 billion annually underline the "unnecessarily high" economic burden caused by foodborne illnesses. India, along with China, accounts for 49% of the total economic burden due to foodborne diseases in low- and middle-income countries and for 71% of the total burden in Asia. Down the ladder, the food-borne illness incidence in the state of Assam is not uncommon, and the occurrence of such incidents is often reported, leading to a huge economic burden, particularly affecting people from middle- and lower-income families.

In order to draw global attention to food safety challenges and the solutions that can save lives and millions in economic losses, the United Nations General Assembly, in its 73rd session on 20th December, 2018, adopted a resolution proclaiming June 7 as World Food Safety Day every year. The resolution recognises the burden that the world has concerning foodborne diseases, which affect people of all ages, particularly children under 5 and people residing in low-income countries. Accordingly, the day has been observed as World Food Safety Day since 2019, led jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations for the following purposes: (i) (i) to raise awareness at all levels about the importance of food safety; (ii) to promote and facilitate actions to prevent foodborne diseases; and (iii) to strengthen global efforts for food security and safety, contributing to economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism, and sustainable development. This day has served as a platform for individuals, health organisations, businesses, policymakers, educators, and public health advocates to act collaboratively in support of safe food systems. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the people and food businesses who work every everyday to help ensure that everyone has access to safe and healthy nourishment.

The theme of the World Food Safety Day, 2025, is "Food Safety: Science in Action". It draws attention to the use of scientific knowledge as key to reducing illness, cutting costs and saving lives, which emphasises the crucial role of scientific knowledge and its application in ensuring food safety. It focuses on collaboration for a sustainable, food-secure future and calls for a collective effort across governments, organisations, sectors and communities to transform agricultural food systems. For this reason, the World Food Safety Day slogan remains: "Food Safety is everyone's business". The theme emphasises building resilient, sustainable food systems to achieve long-term food security for all, with a focus on innovation, reducing food waste, and ensuring equitable access to nutritious food worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organisation is also marking its 80th anniversary this year, highlighting the importance of collaboration and teamwork in addressing global food challenges.

On this special day, while aiming to raise awareness and inspire concrete actions to prevent, detect, and manage food-borne risks, it is worth emphasising the importance of widespread dissemination amongst all people of the WHO's Five Keys to Safer Food, which were created by a group of international scientists to empower all consumers worldwide with a simple and applicable set of actions to prevent food-borne disease. It reiterates that most food-borne diseases are preventable with proper food handling. You and your family can make a difference. The keys are - (i) Keep clean - Wash your hands with soap and clean water before handling and preparing food. (ii) Separate raw and cooked - Raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs can spread illness-causing bacteria to ready-to-eat foods, and hence proper separation of raw and cooked food must be ensured. (iii) Cook thoroughly - Check that the core temperature of the cooked dish or food reaches at least 70° C, especially meat, poultry, seafood and eggs. (iv) Keep food at safe temperatures - Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickest in the temperature "danger zone" between 5°C and 60°C. Chill food promptly and properly and (v) use safe water and raw materials - wash your fruits and vegetables properly with clean water before eating them.

While food safety may be an overlooked public health issue for most of the year, it is expected that this day will offer an opportunity to all stakeholders, as food safety is everyone's business to pledge and act towards ensuring safe and wholesome food for all citizens in the true spirit of the United Nations resolution and as envisaged by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, implemented throughout the country since 5th August, 2011, and build a sustainable future in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).