World Food Safety Day: Theme, History, Significance and Quotes on Food

World Food Safety day is celebrated on June 7 every year. The motive of celebrating this day is to make people aware of and take action with regard to prevention, detection, and management of foodborne diseases and risks. This step contributes significantly to human health, agriculture, food security, economic prosperity, tourism development, market access, and sustainability on the Earth.

World Food Safety Day 2021 Theme

The theme of World Food Safety Day 2021 is “Safe Food Today for a Healthy Tomorrow.” 

The theme emphasizes on the production and the consumption of food that is safe and gives immediate and, at the same time, long-term benefits to people, the economy, and the planet.  

It is important to recognize systemic connections between health of humans, animals, flora (plants), the environment, and the economy to help us meet our future needs.  

Everybody’s health is interconnected, whether humans, animals, environment, or economy. It forms the overall health of planet Earth.  

History of World Food Safety Day: How it came into existence 

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that June 7 would be regarded as World Food Safety Day every year. This was to recognize the burden that the world has with respect to foodborne diseases. They affect people of all ages, particularly children below 5 years of age and people residing in countries of low income.  

In 2020, the World Health Assembly further decided upon strengthening efforts towards food safety to decrease the world’s burden of foodborne diseases.  

Both WHO (World Health Organization) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) work together to observe World Food Safety Day in association with Member States and other organizations relevant to this field.  

With the Covid-19 pandemic, food safety and nutrition has become all the more important.   

Significance of World Food Safety Day 

Food safety is not a ‘one man/woman job.’ Everybody has to contribute from farm to table to make sure the food consumed is safe and nutritious. Governments, producers, traders, and consumers have shared responsibility in this regard.  

In India, FSSAI is the body that regulates food safety.  

In short, food safety is everybody’s business.  

• Farmers should ensure they produce food (crops) in the most organic manner possible with least use of fertilizers and pesticides.

• Buyers of farm produce should store food hygienically so that they are in top condition

• Processors of food should ensure that they manufacture products in the cleanest manner possible and in a way that retains the food’s nutritious value. 

• Consumers should ensure they are eating food that is safe and should know how to reap the maximum health benefits from the food. 

Quotes from famous people regarding food 

 “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” - Mahatma Gandhi. 

"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food"-Hippocrates 

"We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun."-George Orwell