World Food Safety Day 2021: Significance and theme for this year

Celebrated on June 7 every year, World Food Safety Day aims to spread awareness, detect and prevent foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that every June 7 would be celebrated as World Food Safety Day. The observance is jointly facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Foodborne illnesses, caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites, are infectious and toxic. They can enter the body through contaminated food and water. It is, therefore, important to ensure the food stays safe at every step of the food chain, from production to consumption.

“With an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies, disproportionally affecting vulnerable and marginalised people, especially women and children, populations affected by conflict, and migrants,” mentions the United Nations on its website.

Monday is #WorldFoodSafetyDay.

Safe food can help improve:
🍎 health & nutrition,
📚 school attendance,
💰 earning potential.

More about the importance of safe food from @FAO: https://t.co/8FBgbTMJHP pic.twitter.com/M3V89Kuvpt

— United Nations (@UN) June 7, 2021

This year’s theme for World Food Safety Day is ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’ which stresses that production and consumption of safe food have “immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy”. “Recognising the systemic connections between the health of people, animals, plants, the environment and the economy will help us meet the needs of the future,” reads a statement by WHO.

Here’s what people shared on social media on World Food Safety Day:

Safe food is key to good health.
On #WorldFoodSafetyDay, let us further strengthen our efforts in reducing foodborne risks and ensuring food security. From farm to fork, food safety is everyone’s responsibility. pic.twitter.com/zWt3WURTtC

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) June 7, 2021

“Food is the most primitive form of comfort”#WorldFoodSafetyDay2021
Let’s pledge on #WorldFoodSafetyDay to eat healthy and safe food. pic.twitter.com/mwwF3l0kHC

— హైదరాబాద్ సిటీ పోలీస్ Hyderabad City Police (@hydcitypolice) June 7, 2021

Easy access to safe & nutritious food for children is vital for a more healthy & illness-resilient future generation. Managing foodborne risks will in turn promote all-round sustainable development that will be in proper sync with environment. #WorldFoodSafetyDay pic.twitter.com/DLJIqqWpJA

— Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta (@drrajivguptaias) June 7, 2021

This #WorldFoodSafetyDay let us pledge for safe food now for a healthy tommorrow.#FoodSafety #SafeFood #EatRightIndia #FSSAI@MIB_India @PIB_India @mygovindia @MoHFW_INDIA @FAO @WHO @GlobalGoalsUN pic.twitter.com/OIOIz31Jac

— FSSAI (@fssaiindia) June 7, 2021