Tanzania commemorates World Food Safety Day 2020

What you need to know:

The World Health Organization (WHO) 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. 

Everyone has the right to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Still today, almost one in ten people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food. When food is not safe, children cannot learn, adults cannot work.

Human development cannot take place. Safe food is critical to promoting health and ending hunger, two of the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The World Health Organization (WHO) 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. As for the economic price tag, according to the World Bank, unsafe food costs low-and middle-income economies alone about US$ 95 billion in lost productivity annually.

Unsafe food also limits trade. When food is not safe, there can be no food security and in a world where the food supply chain has become more complex, any adverse food safety incident has a negative impact on public health, trade and the economy.

The second World Food Safety Day (WFSD) celebrated this year on 7 June 2020 with the theme “Food safety, everyone’s business” aims 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. 

Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers and consumers.  Everybody has a role to play from farm to table to ensure the food we consume is safe and will not cause damages to our health. 

Through the World Food Safety Day, WHO pursues its efforts to mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.

WHO is therefore inviting all players in the farm-to-fork continuum to get involved: These include Codex Member Countries and their partners; everyone who grows, processes, transports, stores, distributes, sells, prepares, serves and consumes food; goodwill ambassadors; social media influencers and the public, especially youth should play a role in the following five key areas:

Ensure it’s safe

Governments must ensure safe and nutritious food for all. National governments are critical in guaranteeing that we all can eat safe and nutritious food. Policy makers can promote sustainable agriculture and food systems, fostering multi-sectoral collaboration among public health, animal health, agriculture and other sectors.

Food safety authorities can manage food safety risks along the entire food chain, including during emergencies. Countries can comply with international standards established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Grow it safe

Agriculture and food producers need to adopt good practices. Farming practices must ensure a sufficient supply of safe food at a global level today while at the same time mitigating climate change and minimizing future environmental impacts for tomorrow. As food production systems transform to adapt to changing conditions, farmers must carefully consider optimal ways to address potential risks to ensure that food is safe.

Keep it safe

Business operators must make sure food is safe. Preventive controls can address most of food safety problems. Everyone involved in food operations –from processing to retail – must ensure compliance with programmes like Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, (HACCP), a system that identifies, evaluates and controls hazards which are significant for food safety from primary production to final consumption. Additionally, good processing, storage and preservation help retain nutritional value and food safety as well as reduce post-harvest losses.

Eat it safe

All consumers have a right to safe, healthy and nutritious food. Consumers have the power to drive change. They need to be empowered to make healthy food choices for themselves and support sustainable food systems for the planet. Given the complexity of food safety, consumers need access to timely, clear and reliable information about the nutritional and disease risks associated with their food choices. Unsafe food and unhealthy dietary choices swell the global burden of disease.

Team up for safety

Food safety is a shared responsibility. Food is processed in greater volumes and distributed over greater distances than ever before. Widespread collaboration and contributions of all actors in the food supply chain, as well as good governance and regulations, are essential to food safety. The diverse group that share responsibility for food safety – governments, regional economic bodies, UN organizations, development agencies, trade organizations, consumer and producer groups, academic and research institutions and private sector entities – must work together on issues that affect us all, globally, regionally and locally. Collaboration is needed at many levels – across sectors within a government and across borders.

The scope and practice of food safety in Tanzania is still evolving, like in other Sub-Saharan African nations. WHO works closely with FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and other international organizations and are committed to supporting the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to ensure food safety along the entire food chain from production to consumption.

The United Nations believes that improving food safety contributes positively to public health, trade, employment and poverty alleviation.

*The author is the WHO Representative to Tanzania.