June 7 is World Food Safety Day 2024
World food safety day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 and is observed on 7th June every year with the main objective to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.
The theme for 2024, World Food Safety Day is, “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected”. “This year’s theme emphasises the significance of being ready for sudden food safety incidents, regardless of their severity.
Despite significant advancements in food production and processing, foodborne illnesses remain a major global concern where there is a potential or confirmed health risk associated with food consumption. A food incident can happen, for example, due to accidental contamination, inadequate food processing controls, extreme weather events, or natural disasters. While being ready to manage food safety incidents, it requires dedicated efforts from policymakers, food safety authorities, farmers and food business operators as well as consumers.
The WHO estimates that 1 in 10 people worldwide get sick due to contaminated food each year and over 200 diseases are caused by eating contaminated food. Also, 40% of the food borne disease burden is carried by children under 5 years of age.
Acknowledging India’s efforts in last few years to streamline food safety regulations along with few other countries, has demonstrated that better health and commercial outcomes are possible with the joint involvement of public agencies, businesses, and consumers in food safety. Of late, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken a series of measures including stringent packaging and labelling norms, regulation of restaurant and street food vendors as well as inspections and sampling of food products to ensure quality of food in India.
Though very much under reporting, the prevalence rate of food borne illness in India is 13.2 %/ at the home level. Food borne illness is also commonly known as Food Poisoning and is often caused by consuming food contaminated by Bacteria and/or their toxins, Parasites, Viruses, Chemicals, or other agents.
Issued by State Food Safety Authority
Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland
