WHO Wants Policy Measures On Food Safety Strengthened

As global community celebrates the world food safety day, the World Health Organisation (WHO), has said that food-related diseases affect one in every 10 people worldwide, yearly.

It urged on the government to strengthen police measures on food safety, adding that there are over 200 diseases associated with food.

The theme of this year’s World Food Safety Day is “Safer food, better health.”

The United Nations General Assembly established World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue.

WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitated the observance of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with the member states and other stakeholders.

WHO in a statement on Tuesday called for a set of specific actions to be taken in multiple sectors to make food safer.

It said, “Policymakers need to support policy measures to strengthen national food safety systems and ensure they comply with food safety standards, as well as engage in multi-sectoral collaboration at the local, national, regional and global levels.

“Food businesses must comply with international food standards and engage employees, suppliers and other stakeholders to grow and develop a food safety culture.

“At the same time, educational institutions and workplaces need to promote safe food handling and support food safety. And consumers need to practice safe food handling at home and keep informed and promote food safety.”

The agency also noted in a video on Twitter that 91 billion people in Africa are affected by food borne illnesses every year, causing 137,000 deaths every year.

It noted that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups are at greater risk.

World Food Safety Day 2022 is observed ten days after the adoption of the updated WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety, a milestone in the work to promote health, keep the world safe and protect the vulnerable.