7 June 2021 World Food Safety Day

A GUIDE TO
WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY
2021
Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow
GET STARTED
The food we eat is kept safe through the dedicated efforts of everyone who grows,
processes, transports, stores, sells, prepares and serves it. Safe food contributes to
a healthy life, a healthy economy, a healthy planet and a healthy future.
Food safety is your business, too. Using food safety practices at home and in our
daily lives will help avoid foodborne illness.
Use this guide to get inspired and get involved in World Food Safety Day!

SLOGAN

“Food safety is everyone’s business”

Calls to Action
1. Ensure it’s safe
Governments must ensure safe and nutritious food for all

2. Grow it safe
Agriculture and food producers need to adopt good practices

3. Keep it safe
Business operators must make sure food is safe

4. Know what’s safe

Consumers need to learn about safe and healthy food

5. Team up for food safety

Let’s work together for safe food and good health!

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 THEME

“Safe food now for a healthy tomorrow”

The consumption and production of safe food have immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy.
The availability of safe and healthy food for all can be sustained into the future by embracing digital innovations, advancing
scientific solutions as well as honouring traditional knowledge that has stood the test of time.

Our food systems need to produce enough safe food for all. Recognizing the systemic connections between the health of
people, animals, plants, the environment and the economy will help us meet the needs of the future. Local actions based
on equitable, often novel, solutions and strengthened multi-sectoral collaboration are essential to meeting the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).

Food safety in the time of COVID-19

While COVID-19 has not been transmitted by food, the pandemic has sharpened the focus on food safety-related issues, such as
hygiene, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, climate change, food fraud and the potential benefits of digitalizing food
systems. It has also identified weaknesses or vulnerabilities in food production and control systems. For the immediate future,
minimizing disruptions in the food supply chains remains one of the highest priorities of all governments, as consumers must
have reliable access to food.

A risk-based approach to food safety and to meeting food

safety requirements can help keep global food supplies open
and enable consumer access to food. Concerted efforts on food
safety will help countries mitigate the socio-economic impacts
of the pandemic and boost their resilience for the long term by
facilitating and accelerating food and agricultural trade, helping UN Decade of Action on Nutrition:
to prevent the next zoonotic pandemic and transforming food commitments for safe
systems. and healthy diets
Everyone has the right to have access to safe,
sufficient, and nutritious food. By helping to keep
food safe, you contribute to improved nutrition and
to the health of your family and community.

Did you know that 2021

is the UN’s International Year
of Fruits and Vegetables? The 2020 International Year
of Plant Health has been
Remember to eat safe fruits and vegetables! Produce
that is eaten raw, and especially if not peeled or washed extended to July 2021!
in clean water, can transmit pathogens and dangerous Food safety starts on the farm with choices made
chemicals. Microbiological and chemical contamination is about seeds, how and where plants are grown and
hard to detect without testing, so it usually goes unnoticed protected. Healthy plants are essential to a safe and
until the produce has been eaten. prosperous food chain and a robust food system.

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 HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Here are some ideas to help you celebrate World Food Safety Day.
If you are unable to organize physical events, embrace the virtual and reach out across digital spaces.

Host a workshop or conference

Bring together food experts from different businesses,
Organize talks and sectors or disciplines to share their expertise and
demonstrations on food safety discuss how food safety can be improved in your
Invite people who grow, process, sell and/or cook food sector, school, university, community or workplace.
to talk about or even demonstrate what they do and To make it virtual – move the event online and make it
how food safety is important for them. This can be in a webinar. Different easy-to-use online platforms are
a school, workplace or community space. available for multi-participant discussion.
To make it virtual – video the talk or demonstration
and share it on a social media platform. Encourage
comments and discussions or even make it a social
media live event so your guest can answer viewer
questions. Hold an outdoor
activity
Organize a run, walk, dance or
fitness class to publicize food
Get the media safety as a key to sustaining
involved life and promoting good health.
Encouraging people to be
Share food safety
physically active can be a good
knowledge through radio
way to raise awareness about
interviews, talk shows or
food safety in your community.
media briefings. Contact
your local newspaper or TV
station to propose coverage
of food safety.

Run a competition
Poster or photography competitions around a theme are popular for schools, universities, in communities and in
workplaces. Encourage participants to find out about food safety and visualize what they learn to pass the message
on. Winning entries can be used in your public spaces to continue awareness-raising on food safety.
To make it virtual – advertise your competition through social media and collect submissions electronically.
Encourage all participants to use the posters/photos and ask the administrators of school or workplace social media
accounts to disseminate the winning entry virtually.

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 HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Engage youth
Involve students in food safety activities at schools, youth centres or youth events. This way young people can learn
about food safety and pass on the message that by changing simple day-to-day actions, they can avoid the perils
of foodborne disease. To make it virtual – share educational materials, such as the WHO Five Keys to Safer Food,
beforehand and move the discussion online.

Produce a video
Conduct an interview or record the
Create a photo montage food safety practices of a business.
Visually document good food safety practices and Research the topic so you can ask
make a collage or produce an exhibition that shows informed questions. Share the video
food safety in action. with friends, colleagues, classmates or
To make it virtual – upload your images to an fellow students.
online gallery. Encourage others to add to it – To make it virtual – conduct an
the result would be a comprehensive look at food interview on Zoom and post the video
safety from different perspectives. on a company, school, university or
community website. Alternatively, the
interview can be streamed live online
or a recorded a tour of food business
can be posted. Encourage feedback
Publicize and online discussion.
It doesn’t have to be a big affair
or involve equipment, money
and lots of people. Simply
posting World Food Safety Day
materials on social media helps
spread awareness about food
safety.
Get creative!
Use the #WorldFoodSafetyDay
hashtag and share on Facebook, There are numerous ways you can learn about food
Instagram, TikTok and other safety and share your knowledge. Conduct a survey
social media channels. or run a quiz. Develop and act out a drama with
friends, write a song or poem. The sky’s your limit!
To make it virtual – all these things can be
conducted, recorded and shared online.
Collect personal stories
Document stories about food workers, farmers, health
professionals or someone who has suffered a foodborne illness. Sharing experiences can help people understand
just how important food safety is. The stories can be written, drawn, photographed, sung, dramatized or recorded.
To make it virtual – the stories can be shared in many ways – via blogs, podcasts, videos and various social media.

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 KEY MESSAGES

There is no food security without food safety

If it is not safe, it is not food. Only when food is safe will it meet dietary needs and help ensure that everyone can live an active
and healthy life. This is also referred to as the utilization dimension of food security.

Safe food is essential to human health and well-being

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 600 million people fall ill and 420 000 die every year from eating food
contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or chemicals. However, these numbers represent only ‘the tip of the
iceberg’ as comprehensive surveillance data for foodborne illnesses is not available everywhere. When food is not safe, humans
cannot benefit from its nutritional value and cannot grow and develop.

Investing in food safety today will reap future rewards

Safe food production improves economic opportunities by enabling market access and productivity. At the same time, good
practices along the supply chain improve sustainability, minimizing environmental damage and the amount of agricultural
product that has to be discarded. Unsafe or contaminated food leads to trade rejections, economic losses and food loss and
waste.

The ‘One Health’ approach improves food safety

Food safety requires a holistic approach, such as ‘One Health’, which recognizes the connection between the health of people,
animals, plants and the environment. Animal and plant health are critical to agriculture producing enough food to feed the
world. Keeping animals healthy will also minimize the risk of zoonotic pathogens (disease-causing organisms that can be
transmitted between animals and humans), antimicrobial resistant organisms and more.

Food safety is based on science

Looking at or smelling food is not a reliable way to check if it is safe, but scientists have developed tests and tools to do so.
Food scientists, microbiologists, veterinarians, medical doctors and toxicologists, to name a few, advise what food production,
processing, handling and preparation practices are needed to make and keep food safe. When food safety practices are
employed across the food chain, the result is safe food.

FAO and WHO support efforts worldwide to keep food safe

Through complementary mandates and a longstanding partnership, FAO and WHO cover a range of issues to support global
food safety and protect consumer health. FAO addresses food safety issues along the food supply chain while WHO works with
the public health sector to lower the burden of foodborne diseases. The two organizations have joint programmes on food
standards (Codex Alimentarius), the provision of scientific advice (JECFA, JEMRA, JMPR, JEMNU) and emergency response
(INFOSAN).

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 Codex Alimentarius food standards help protect health and facilitate trade
The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission brings together the expertise of both organizations and its 189 Members to
establish science-based international standards, guidelines and codes of practice that help ensure food safety and quality in
a consensual, inclusive and transparent way. It addresses all food-related issues: contaminants, hygienic practices, labelling,
additives, inspection and certification, nutrition and residues of veterinary drugs and pesticides.

When governments adopt international standards, farmers and producers are able to meet consumer demands for safe food
and expand their market access.

Tips for organizing virtual events

1. Know your audience. Select the type of event your target audience would attend and a social media channel or
platform they would use.
2. Start planning early.
3. Choose a date, time and platform. Consider your audience’s location and check time zones.
4. Where possible, opt for password-protected meetings.
5. Find the right host, guests and format. Invite people who know the subject and can engage your audience.
6. Promote your event. Tell your audience when the event will take place and how they can tune in.
7. Be inclusive. Use clear language and subtitles or interpretation, if needed. Use visual tools to make the event more
accessible. Keep gender balance and diversity in mind for your hosts and guests.
8. Be ready for tech troubles. Have someone on hand to help you with any issues that arise.

Campaign materials
Designs for the following products will be made available for World Food Safety Day 2021 in all six official UN languages
(Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish):
1. Posters
2. Web banners
3. Event backdrops or banners
4. Gadgets – T-shirt, cap, bag, mug, apron

You can download these materials in the World Food Safety Day 2021 Asset Bank in low resolution (to share digitally)
and high resolution (for printing or production). Most products are already available in the six UN languages and
others will be uploaded by June 2021.

Join the campaign by sharing our free material in all six official UN languages on digital channels available on the
Trello board.

The English language hashtags are: #WorldFoodSafetyDay #FoodSafety #SafeFood

Let us know your plans and send us photos/videos of your events: [email protected]

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 The UN recognizes food safety
In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 73/250 proclaiming 7 June as World Food Safety Day,
taking into account the global burden of foodborne diseases, which affect individuals of all ages, in particular children
under five and persons living in low-income regions.

The resolution notes that “there is no food security without food safety and that in a world where the food supply chain
has become more complex, any adverse food safety incident may have global negative effects on public health, trade
and the economy”. It also emphasizes that improving food safety contributes positively to trade, employment and poverty
alleviation.

The UN Day was established to raise awareness at all levels and to promote and facilitate actions for global food safety, on
the basis of scientific principles and in line with World Trade Organization measures. The Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the parent organizations of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission, were invited to jointly facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with other relevant
organizations.

Let’s celebrate together

The third World Food Safety Day will be celebrated on 7 June 2021 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent,
detect and manage foodborne risks. This guide has been produced to facilitate the organization of World Food Safety Day
campaigns, events and activities.

To let us know about your event

or ask a question, email us on
[email protected]
www.fao.org/world-food-safety-day
www.who.int/world-food-safety-day
#WorldFoodSafetyDay