Every year, June 7 marks the World Food Safety Day, which is dedicated to spreading awareness about foodborne risks and improving human health through conscious eating. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established the World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue. The observance across the world is jointly facilitated by the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with member states and other stakeholders. This year’s theme is “Safer food, better health” which aims to highlight the role of safe, nutritional food in ensuring human health and well-being.
Here are five things to know about the day:
1) According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall sick and 420,000 others die every year after eating contaminated food.
2) There are over 200 foodborne diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food, it said. In worst case scenarios, these diseases can also lead to the development of cancer cells in the body.
3) Children under five years of age carry 40 per cent of the foodborne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths every year, the WHO highlights
4) Foodborne diseases also impede socio-economic development by straining health care systems and harming national economies, tourism and trade.
5) The 2019 World Bank report on the economic burden of foodborne diseases indicated that the total productivity loss associated with foodborne disease in low- and middle-income countries was estimated at US$ 95.2 billion per year, and the annual cost of treating foodborne illnesses is estimated at US$ 15 billion.
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