World Food Safety Day 2023

The magnitude of the global public health burden due to foodborne diseases is comparable to that of HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis, and most of this burden is in low- and middle-income countries. In 2015, the World Health Organization conservatively estimated that Africans suffer 137,000 deaths and 91 million acute illnesses annually from foodborne hazards, with the African region having the world's highest per capita incidence of foodborne illness.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 600 million people fall ill and 475,000 die every year from eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or chemicals. According to the World Bank, unsafe food costs low-and middle-income economies alone about USD 95 billion in lost productivity annually. Unsafe food also limits trade.

Hazards are not the same as risks. The mere existence of pathogens in food is not necessarily an indication that consumers are at risk. In many parts of Africa, it is common knowledge that certain foods may contain hazards and common practice to neutralize them by thoroughly cooking or, with milk, through boiling. In Ethiopia, traditional fermentation of milk has been found to provide a 200-fold reduction in the risk of Staphylococcus poisoning. A focus on risks is therefore more effective at ensuring safer food. 

Studies by ILRI and partners in Cambodia and Vietnam show that investing as little as USD 30 per shop on interventions to improve hygiene during food handling in slaughterhouses and markets, combined with training and light touch technologies, can significantly reduce microbial contamination of meat sold in traditional markets.

Safe food allows for the uptake of nutrients, promotes long-term human development and achievement of several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Food safety is a shared responsibility, involving the whole supply chain, from producers to consumers. In this context, most foodborne disease is preventable with proper food handling and education at all levels.

When food safety standards are applied, consumers will be protected by the efforts that have been undertaken in making sure that the food they consume is safer. Food safety standards provide the common basis for understanding and, at the same time, the common basis for joint action to ensure that all of us can benefit from safe food.

Implementing standards, guidelines and codes of practice along the food supply chain ensures that food is safe and nutritious when it reaches the consumer, contributing to consumer confidence in the products. Governments, producers, processors and retailers all play a part in ensuring food standards are met. The international food safety standards of the Codex Alimentarius facilitate fair practices in international trade.

If it is not safe, it is not food. Food security is achieved when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. In fact, food safety is a critical part of the utilization component of the four dimensions of food security – availability, access, utilization and stability.