PURPOSE: The World Food Safety Day celebrated on 7 June 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. Around the world, an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people – fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, resulting in 420 000 deaths and the loss of 33 million healthy life years (DALYs); Access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances can cause more than 200 different diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. Food safety saves lives. It is not only a crucial component to food security, but it also plays a vital role in reducing foodborne disease. Every year, 600 million people fall sick as a result of around 200 different types of foodborne illness. The burden of such illness falls most heavily on the poor and on the young. In addition, foodborne illness is responsible for 420 000 preventable deaths every year. World Food Safety Day is an important way to make people aware of food safety issues,to demonstrate how to prevent illness through food safety, to discuss collaborative approaches to improved food safety across sectors, to promote solutions and ways of being more food safe.
FORUM: "Food safety: science in action." World Food Safety Day 2025. Science is at the heart of food safety. It helps us understand what makes food unsafe and guides us on how to prevent foodborne diseases. The theme will draw attention to the use of scientific knowledge as key to reducing illness, cutting costs and saving lives. On this World Food Safety Day, we recognize the essential role of science in ensuring food safety and enabling informed decision-making. Scientific research underpins every aspect of food safety, from risk assessment and hazard analysis to the development of evidence-based policies and good practices. Governments rely on scientific findings to shape regulations, food businesses apply scientific principles to maintain safe production standards, and consumers depend on science to make informed choices about what they eat. Without the rigorous application of science, ensuring food safety across food supply chains would not be possible. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #7june, #ScienceinAction, #Foodsafety, #WorldFoodSafetyDay.
EVENTS: On June 7th, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance, working closely with Member States and other stakeholders including civil society, academia, and others. Join us this year to celebrate World Food Safety Day 2025 – whether as a policymaker, a food business owner or employee, as an educator or as a consumer. Learn more about the event; Register to participate and Tune up to watch the webinars!
Launch of the Health Talks series
From June 2nd to June 4th, the Nutrition and Food Safety Department of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Talks on Food Safety have held a series of three webinars to explore how evidence can translate into impact and understand why science matters at every step of the food safety journey.
On june 2nd, 13:00 - 14:00 CEST , webinar entitled “Advancing food safety through scientific advice”.
This opening webinar will launch the Health Talks series and spotlight the role of scientific advice in protecting public health. It will showcase how WHO mobilizes scientific expertise through the international advisory bodies to transform cutting-edge research into practical guidance. Join us to celebrate the global scientific community and WHO’s leadership in turning science into action for safer food, greater trust and better health for all. Register here
On June 3rd, 2025. from 11:00 - 12:00 CEST, webinar entitled ’’From data to impact: Four imperatives for turning foodborne disease information into action.’’
Explore four imperatives for turning information into action to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases. This webinar will highlight four imperatives that make the case for investing in foodborne disease data: health, economic, environmental, and governance. Drawing from recent work by the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), speakers will explore how burden estimates can guide risk-based decision-making, strengthen surveillance systems, and support sustainable, science-informed action. Register here
4 June 2025, from 13:00 - 14:00 CEST, webinar entitled ‘‘ The WHO Alliance for Food Safety: Advancing science in action.’’
The webinar will explore how science can be harnessed to strengthen food safety systems, with a focus on the WHO Alliance for Food Safety efforts to promote improved foodborne disease surveillance, advocate for stronger laboratory capacity, and support better data generation and use. It will highlight the work of the Alliance’s three technical working groups, which aim to advance integration of foodborne diseases into national surveillance systems, foster collaboration and capacity across laboratories and improve data sharing and awareness. Register here
More information: Health Talks on Food Safety are hosted by the WHO Food Systems Community of Practice. Visit for more details and the full list of presenters.
The Codex standards ensure that food is safe and can be traded. The 188 Codex members have negotiated science based recommendations in all areas related to food safety and quality. Codex food safety texts are a reference in WTO trade disputes. Here is the calendar of conferences and Upcoming Meetings:
- In Kampala, Uganda; from 27/01/2025 to 31/01/2025 will be held the CCAFRICA25 meeting of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa
- In Nadi, Fiji, from 03/02/2025 to 07/02/2025 will be held the CCNASWP17 meeting of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific - In Mexico city, Mexico, from 25/02/2025 to 01/03/2025 will be held the CCFFV23 meeting of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. - In Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 24/03/2025 to 28/03/2025 will be held the CCFA55 meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives
- By correspondence, from 07/04/2025 to 30/04/2025 will be held the CCCPL11 meeting of the Codex Committee on Cereals, Pulses and Legumes - A virtual event; From 05/05/2025 to 14/05/2025 will be held the CCMAS44 meeting of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling
- In Lille, France ; From 02/06/2025 to 06/06/2025, will be held the CCGP34 meeting of the Codex Committee on General Principles
- In Bangkok, Thailand, from 23/06/2025 to 27/06/2025 will be held the CCCF18 meeting of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods - In Rome, Italy, from 14/07/2025 to 18/07/2025 will be held the CCEXEC88 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
- In Santiago, Chile; from 08/09/2025 to 13/09/2025 will be held the CCPR56 meeting of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues - In Kochi, Kerala, India, from 13/10/2025 to 17/10/2025 will be held the CCSCH8 meetin of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs. - In Rome, Italy, from 03/11/2025 to 07/11/2025 will be held the CCEXEC89 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
- In Rome, Italy, from 10/11/2025 to 14/11/2025 will be held the CAC48 meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - From 15/12/2025 to 19/12/2025 will be held the CCFH55 meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene
- In Malaysia, From 09/02/2026 to 13/02/2026 will be held the CCFO29 Codex Committee on Fats and Oils
- In Budapest, Hungary, from 09/03/2026 to 13/03/2026 will be held the CCMAS45 Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling - In United State of America , from 23/03/2026 to 27/03/2026 will be held the CCRVDF28 meeting of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods - In China 13/04/2026 to 17/04/2026 will be held the CCFA56 meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives
PUBLICATIONS: The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan presents the mission, vision, goals, objectives and measurable indicators for the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It underpins the high priority that continues to be placed on food safety and quality by FAO and WHO and guides the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities and unique mandate to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in the food trade. The Strategic Plan informs Members, inter-governmental and international non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders of how the Commission intends to fulfil its mandate and to meet the needs, including emerging issues, and expectations of its Members during the period 2020-2025. Read the Codex Strategic Plan 2020–2025.
FAO estimates that one-third of trade in food and agriculture takes place within global value chains and crosses at least two borders. To protect trillions of dollars in worldwide exports of food and agricultural products from unsafe or poor-quality food and the spread of pests and diseases, trading nations rely on the implementation of globally agreed standards set by three international entities: the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the International Plant Protection Convention and the World Organisation for Animal Health, known collectively as “the three sisters”. This document examines how and why each of the three sisters monitors, the use and impact of their standards, and what challenges they face in carrying out these monitoring activities. Also explored are the outcomes and information that have emerged from monitoring that improve trade harmonization and that ultimately will leave no one behind. This publication makes a case for the engagement of memberships in setting and implementing standards, and for supporting the monitoring activities that promise to improve the impact of international standards. Read the full report on the Use and implementation of Codex, IPPC and WOAH standards: How do the three sisters monitor the impact of their work?
STATEMENTS: Watch the Message from the FAO Director-General on the occasion of World Food Safety Day 2025; June 7th.
PODCASTS: The WHO Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) announces of the 2025 Food World Safety Day theme. The series of three webinars will highlight how science drives progress in food safety, covering expert advice, foodborne disease burden estimation, surveillance, laboratory systems and global collaboration, and feature leading voices from WHO and partner institutions. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: The "Food safety: science in action." campaign calls for a set of specific actions to make food safer. This communication toolkit and the Advocacy and Communication materials present information about the seventh World Food Safety. Let us know your plans by sharing photos, video links or event news; Get the campaign materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
HOW TO GET INVOLVED!
PARTNERSHIPS
The World Food Safety Day is hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);the Codex Alimentarius;The World Food Programme (WFP); The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD); The UN Environment Programme; The World Bank;The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UNECE and the World Food Summit. With the collaboration the International Food Waste Coalition (IFWC), the Think Tank for Food (FoodTank), the Food Recovery Network, the Rethink food waste through Economics and Data (ReFED), the BBC GOOD FOOD, the Forgotten Harvest, the CityHarvest, the Second Harvest, the Felix Project and the Stop Wasting Food movement. With the Participation of Agri-food communities; Owners of supermarkets and food store, the Civil Society Organizations, the Non-Governmental Organizations, the Researchers and Academia.
Governments can:
Commit to developing or updating national food safety emergency response plans
Strengthen national food control systems
Increase surveillance and coordination capacities
Improve communication with food businesses and the general public
Food businesses can:
Improve food safety management plans
Share “lessons learned” and work collaboratively with each other
Improve the way they communicate with consumers
Consumers can:
Ensure they know how to report or respond to a food safety incident
Ensure they understand the implications of the unexpected at home, and how to react
Researchers and Academia can:
Organize your campaign; Explore The Action toolkit.
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The United Nations General Assembly established World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue. WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with Member States and other stakeholders.
Food safety, nutrition and food security are closely linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. In addition to contributing to food and nutrition security, a safe food supply also supports national economies, trade and tourism, stimulating sustainable development. The globalization of food trade, a growing world population, climate change and rapidly changing food systems have an impact on the safety of food. WHO aims to enhance at a global and country-level the capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats associated with unsafe food.