World Food Safety Day 2024 Campaign Announced

The 2024 joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) World Food Safety Day campaign has been launched, and the year’s theme has been revealed as “Food safety — prepare for the unexpected.” World Food Safety Day is set for June 7.

The campaign will explore issues around unexpected food safety incidents that can occur even when we have all played our part to keep food safe. Such incidents can be as simple as a power outage at home and the subsequent challenges in storing food safely.

On the other end of the scale, international food safety alerts involve contamination or potential contamination within the food supply, the origins of which have to be identified as quickly as possible to avert an outbreak of illness. In such situations, data collection and rapid information exchange across borders and sectors help to prevent the spread of foodborne disease.

The World Food Safety Day campaign this year invites participants to look at ways they can better prepare for such unexpected food safety events.

FAO Director of the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division Corinna Hawkes joined WHO Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety Francesco Branca in a video message, where they stated, “Anticipating the kinds of events that might occur, whether it be a natural disaster like flooding, or a volcano eruption or a power outage can ensure the risk to food safety is minimized. And in the home, consumers’ food safety knowledge can avert problems in unexpected situations. This World Food Safety Day, we will raise awareness about what you — no matter your role — can do to be ready for the unexpected.”

Learn more about the campaign here.