June 7 this year is the first World Food Safety Day. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as called on people to take an active part in on-line and off-line activities around the world at its headquarters in Rome on the same day and to pay more attention to food safety.

The theme of this year’s World Food Safety Day is “food safety is closely related to everyone”. FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva pointed Out: “Whether you are a farmer, a farm supplier, a food processor, a transporter, a marketer or a consumer, food safety is closely related to you. There is no food security without food security.”

“Unsafe food causes approximately 420,000 deaths every year, and these deaths may be completely avoided.” WHO Director-General Tan Desai pointed out that, the establishment of World Food Safety Day could raise the awareness of governments, producers, operators and consumers of the hazards of unsafe food. “All of us may do our part to ensure food safety during the process of food production from the farm to the plate.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization are responsible for leading efforts to promote food safety around the world. FAO and WHO stressed the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Safe food is crucial to achieving the two main goals of sustainable development-promoting health and eliminating hunger. FAO and WHO are jointly assisting countries in preventing, managing and responding to risks in food supply chains, and are working with food producers and suppliers, regulatory agencies and civil society stakeholders to jointly improve the safety level of food produced and imported by countries.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in December last year, deciding that June 7 every year from 2019 will be World Food Safety Day to promote attention to food safety issues.