World Food safety Day / Codex Chairperson calls for the transformation of food systems

07/06/2022

“Our mission in Codex is to be where the world comes together to create food safety and quality standards that protect everyone everywhere. Food safety is at the core of our work,” said Codex Chairperson Steve Wearne as celebrations got underway across the globe for World Food Safety Day 2022.

One in ten people worldwide fall ill from contaminated food each year and the magnitude of the global public health burden of foodborne disease is comparable to that of malaria, or of HIV/AIDS. Yet most foodborne disease is preventable.

“We need to transform food systems to deliver better health, and we need to do so in a sustainable way,” he said. World Food Safety Day 2022 provides a platform to advocate for change and to inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage food safety risks.

Vice Chairperson Allan Azegele, Kenya, said: “A healthy workforce is critical in driving a country's economy. Safe food is a basic need for human health and wellbeing which guarantees growth and prosperity of a nation. Therefore, the World Food Safety Day is an opportunity to advocate for increased commitment and investment in food control systems.”

“Improving food safety is a collective responsibility of us all as consumers, food producers and processors and we all have a part to play in achieving better outcomes. As they say, food safety starts in the home and getting the food safety message to all sections of the community can have a huge benefit for us all,” said Vice-Chairperson Raj Rajasekar, New Zealand.

The third Codex Vice-Chairperson, Diego Varela, Chile said: "Food safety is also about trust, today we celebrate the people we trust in to provide us with safe food."

Since its establishment almost sixty years ago the Codex Alimentarius Commission has played a huge role through the development of international food standards for health protection and trade. Looking ahead the work of Codex will be even more important as the world grapples with the challenges of assuring food security against the background of climate change, food systems transformation and sustainability considerations.

Let’s celebrate World Food Safety Day 2022 together, and let’s create lasting change.