Representatives of government, food safety experts, industry and UN specialized agencies gathered in Rome on 7 June 2019 to ramp up efforts to combat foodborne illness and reaffirm that food safety “is everyone’s business” on the inaugural World Food Safety Day.

Carlos Mora Gómez, Vice-Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Costa Rica

Carlos Mora Gómez, the Vice-Minister of Economy Industry and Commerce from Costa Rica underlined how national governments, as decision-makers and policy-makers, have the challenge of guaranteeing access to safe and nutritious food for all people and also promoting sustainability in their food production.

“We are convinced that the management of food safety requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach to be effective”, he said, promoting multisectoral collaboration, so that it is a shared responsibility among the different sectors: government, farmers, food companies and consumers and taking advantage of public-private partnerships.

Costa Rica led the initiative to proclaim the 7 June World Food Safety Day through the Codex Alimentarius, with FAO, WHO and finally at the United Nations.

Ndèye Maguette Diop, Head of Agri-Food Committee, Association sénégalaise de Normalisation

Ndèye Maguette Diop, Head of the Agri-Food Committee in the Senegalese Standards Association, said “food safety management is challenging when our food supply is under threat and we face economic issues and demands of consumers”. To enjoy a sustainable and inclusive food safety system it is necessary to invest in governance, operations, training and communication. “We have upgraded our regulations to align with Codex standards and trained our experts to implement them”, she said.

Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt (left) talking to David Crean, Mars

On this inaugural World Food Safety Day, “together we must move beyond the words and reports of the past decade to problem solving actions based on partnerships and collaborations”, said David Crean, Vice President, Corporate R&D for Mars Incorporated. The day should be used to maintain continuous awareness, encourage action and commitments, reporting on progress and the way forward in a “transformational programme of collaborative action”, he said.

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World Food Safety Day web page

Watch the full webcast of the 7 June Rome event

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Photo credits

©FAO/Giulio Napolitano, ©FAO/Alessandra Benedetti