The Republic of Korea celebrates its 20th Food Safety Day
This year, 14 May marked the twentieth annual Food Safety Day in the Republic of Korea. Established to “raise public interest in food safety and promote safety awareness of food-related workers,” the event, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, now extends to two weeks of awareness raising, awards and seminars.
The Korean celebrations stand as an example to the newer World Food Safety Day, now in its third year. In a video address recorded for the 14 May event, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt commented: “As Secretary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, it is my great honour to be part of the 20th Korean Food Safety Day. Observing your activity in food safety and seeing your slogan of “Food Safety Together, Healthy Korea”, I know that we have the same goal and enthusiasm for food safety.”
The socially distanced event in Seoul, which was broadcast live on national TV, started with musical performances, which were followed by an awards ceremony, celebrating food workers who went above and beyond in this last year.
In his speech, which was broadcast towards the end of the event, Heilandt also commented on Korea’s contribution to the work of Codex Alimentarius: “I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your significant collaboration with Codex, in particular, the work on the Task Force for Antimicrobial Resistance,” he said. He also announced a new project called “Implementation of Codex Standards to Support Containment and Reduction of Foodborne AMR” at the end of this month. “We are excited about this new venture that we will start together with you,” he said, “and I believe your generous contribution will set a fantastic example for cooperation in Codex history.”
Korea has been promoting the importance of food safety every year to raise awareness among consumers and food workers, with the slogan “Food Safety Together, Healthy Korea.”
The 14 May event was broadcast on national television and can be seen here