The theme for this year’s World Food Day (WFD) is “Right to foods for a better life and a better future”. There are multiple ideas bound up in this simple phrase. The Right to Food is recognized as a human right and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two legally binding international covenants. The pluralization of “foods” carries with it ideas around the diversity we need for a well-balanced and nutritious diet as well as the biodiversity that will help deliver the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems that is vital to the better future envisaged by the WFD theme.

But, if it is not safe, it is simply not food. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers to a Right to Food, implicit in this is a right to safe, nutritious, diverse, affordable and accessible food. Through its statutory purpose of protecting consumer health and facilitating fair practices in the food trade, Codex supports countries to uphold the Right to Food.

“This year’s WFD theme to have a right to foods for a better life and a better future resonates with the essence of Codex,” said Sarah Cahill, Codex Secretary. “While we are living in an environment of rapid change and mounting challenges, which requires our commitment and efforts, Codex continues to adapt to this new reality, such that it continues to contribute to ensuring that all people everywhere have access to enough affordable, nutritious and safe food”.

At the 47th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC47) meeting this November, the 189 Codex Members (188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (the European Union)) will convene to adopt the latest standards, guidelines and codes of practice that have been agreed upon in 13 subsidiary committees this year. Among those is the proposed Guidelines for Food Hygiene Control Measures in Traditional Markets for Food, which have great potential to improve global food safety outcomes.

To be able to carry out this work successfully, and to be able to guide governments around the world, Codex is constantly seeking to ensure it considers the most relevant and urgent issues of the time and responds quickly to a rapidly evolving world. It does this with reference to the latest science and data, which is analysed and made applicable by the world’s leading experts in their respective fields. In this way, Codex is constantly “looking to the future,” a notion epitomized through the work on the Codex Strategic Plan 2026-2031, which will be debated at this year’s Commission meeting.

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CAC47 webpage
World Food Day