Food Safety Day

The world has now a world food safety day!

On December 20, 2018, the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in
New York proclaimed June 7 as World Food Safety Day. Starting from 2019, the
world will officially celebrate Food Safety on this day. This proclamation is the
result of the initiative of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) in 2015,
followed by intensive negotiations within the CAC, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World food organization (WHO).
This multi-stakeholder partnership has been striving to protect health and facilitate
trade while ensuring food is safe since 1963 as according to the UN report.

World Food Safety Day will give consumers, producers and governments a chance
to focus on an issue that is often taken for granted. Food safety is invisible until
you get ill. Anyone who has food poisoning knows this. But there is also another
more insidious side to unsafe food. Some chemical contaminants can accumulate
in your body, and remaining invisible can creep up on you over time.

The 189 Codex members adopt standards, guidelines and recommendations in all
areas related to food safety and quality: food hygiene; maximum levels for food
additives; maximum limits for residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs; and
maximum levels to prevent chemical and microbiological contamination. All these
standards are based on robust, up-to-date scientific advice generated by FAO and
WHO.

Food safety is key to achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals and
a UN dedicated day would bring it into the spotlight, helping prevent, detect and
manage foodborne risks. Safe food contributed to economic prosperity, boosting
agriculture, market access, and tourism and sustainable development.

The World Food Safety day as according to the UN report will draw global attention
to the health consequences of unsafe food such as:
 More than 200 diseases are spread through food
 1 in every 10 people suffer from contaminated food every year and around
420,000 die; 125,000 are children under five years old
 Foodborne diseases affect vulnerable people more than other groups
 The spread of threats such as antimicrobial resistance

In the Philippines, Republic Act 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013 which is to
strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the country to protect consumer
health and facilitate market access of local food and food products was signed into
law. This is being regulated by DOH, DA, DILG and the LGUs. However, it was being
emphasized in the Act that food safety and quality is the responsibility of everyone
along the food chain.

With this, the National Codex Organization, the sole body representing the
Philippines to the CAC and the Department of Agriculture would like to encourage
disseminating the 2019 World Food Safety Day with the theme: “Assuring food
safety in the food chain is fundamental to healthy living.” An exhibit on food safety
will be done at SM Baguio City on 7 June 2019 from 1:00 to 5:00pm.