Be food safe—prepare for the unexpected

Ensuring food safety is everyone’s priority and responsibility, including decision-makers, food producers, processors, and consumers as well. Every year on 7 June, World Food Safety Day emphasizes the collective, societal nature of food safety work. The 2024 theme calls for all actors along the food value chain to prepare for emerging threats. 

On Tuesday, a webinar brought together experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform and inspire food safety professionals from across Europe and Central Asia to better manage food safety risks – both those known and those emergent. The virtual event contributed to the understanding of how to prevent future food safety incidents and crises, how to recognize and better prepare for them, and was an opportunity learn from actual examples from the region.

“FAO is working closely with the countries of the region to enhance their capacities to be prepared,” said Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader for Europe and Central Asia in his welcome words. “Investing in scientific research on food safety and collaborating with scientific institutions are key, not only for identifying the threats, but also for developing better practices in mitigation and control. FAO continuously advises countries on emerging and future issues with publications, awareness raising activities and methodologies based on scientific evidence and data.”  

“Preparedness for food safety incidents calls for the ability to swiftly identify and mitigate hazards. This requires investment in surveillance, laboratories, and institutional response capacities. WHO Europe is committed to its support to the Member countries on improving National Health Security, and currently working on a regional strategy and action plan, which includes preparedness for emergencies” highlighted Nhu Nguyen Tran Minh, Programme Area Manager at the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.

Managing food safety risks

Safe food is the prerequisite for people to stay healthy. Every year, over 600 million people fall ill and 420 000 die from eating contaminated food. These illnesses and deaths could be prevented if food safety were effectively ensured along the food chain, from the farm to the table.

Food safety incidents can range from minor events to major international crises. Food safety hazards don’t halt at borders, so in an increasingly interconnected global food supply system, risks posed by unsafe food can rapidly evolve from a local problem to an international emergency.

“Food systems form an interconnected network of increasing complexity; but in parallel, tools and availability of data are also advancing and improving, which eventually supports our evidence-based decision making,” underlined Ákos Jóźwiak, Head of Department of Digital Food Science at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest, during his keynote speech. He noted that “there is a strong need for multidisciplinary teams working together to address the emerging food safety risks. Enabling cross-sectoral data sharing and investing in capacity building and data literacy are crucial for identifying future food systems risks.” 

Tatiana Calionchina, Head of the planning, risk assessment and quality management department, National Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Moldova, noted that collaboration amongst authorities and food chain actors, making use of digitalized systems for official controls, and having crisis management and communication plans are needed for being prepared for the unknown. Svitlana Shlapatska, Deputy Head of Unit for Animal Health and Welfare at the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, shared that food safety remains a priority even while the war in Ukraine is ongoing. Policies, communication, and outbreak preparedness plans for prioritized zoonotic diseases are being updated with the cross-sectoral input by health, agriculture, and environmental experts.

Co-moderator Mary Kenny, FAO Food Safety and Consumer Protection Officer, remarked that the issues raised during the webinar resonated strongly with the efforts of the countries in the region to improve their food control systems, including strengthening food safety management and analysis of data, and exchanging knowledge among different experts in public and private sector.

Co-moderator Peter Sousa Hoejskov, WHO Technical Officer for Food Safety and Zoonotic Diseases gave support to the need for cross-national, cross-sectoral and inter-agency collaboration. He added that from mild to severe incidents, preparing for the unexpected food safety issues requires working across sectors and sharing of data. Reducing food safety risks is an ongoing effort every day, and World food Safety Day enables us to recognize the continuous efforts.

About the day

As of 2019, World Food Safety Day 7 June, is jointly lead by FAO and WHO, and 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.