Date: Sunday, 7 June 2026; 8th Annual Day.
Organizers:
- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
Objectives:
The World Food Safety Day is annually observed for the following purposes:
- to raise awareness at all levels about the importance of food safety,
- to promote and facilitate actions to prevent foodborne diseases,
- to strengthen global efforts for food security and safety, contributing to economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism, and sustainable development.
Inception:
World Food Safety Day was officially held for the first time on June 7, 2019.
History:
In 2016, at its 39th session, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international food standards body, unanimously agreed to promote a proposal to proclaim a World Food Safety Day. The proposal was endorsed by the FAO conference in July 2017 and the WHO in December 2017, respectively.
On 20 December 2018, the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/73/250) proclaiming June 7 as World Food Safety Day every year. The resolution recognized the burden that the world has concerning foodborne diseases, which affect people of all ages, particularly children under 5 and people residing in low-income countries.
On 3 August 2020, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution (WHA73.5) to recognize World Food Safety Day as an important milestone and a platform for raising awareness at all levels about the importance of food safety, promoting and facilitating actions to prevent foodborne diseases; and strengthening global efforts for food safety.
Why do we mark food safety?
Safe food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances are usually infectious or toxic. Every year, there are approximately 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses. About 420,000 people around the world die every year after eating contaminated or unsafe food. Of them, children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths per year. Therefore, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economic prosperity, disproportionally affecting vulnerable and marginalized people, especially women and children, populations affected by conflict, and migrants.
It is essential and critical to ensure that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain—from production to harvest, processing, storage, distribution, and preparation and consumption. Governments, producers, traders, and consumers are responsible for ensuring that the food consumed is safe and nutritious. World Food Safety Day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure the food we eat is safe and to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.
Annual theme in recent years:
2026 theme: “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere.”
2025 theme: “Food Safety: Science in Action.”
2024 theme: “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected.”
2023 theme: “Food Standards Save Lives.”
2022 theme: “Safer Food, Better Health”.
2021 theme: “Safe Food Today for a Healthy Tomorrow.”
2020 theme: “Food Safety, Everyone’s Business.”
Official website:
www.un.org/en/observances/food-safety-day
