World Food Safety Day 2021: Theme and significance of occasion underlining importance of food security

For every individual, food and shelter are the basic necessities for their existence on Earth. Food provides all the essential carbohydrates, nutrients, proteins, and fats in our bodies which helps to sustain growth. Hence, to spread awareness about food borne risks and management, World Food Safety Day is celebrated every year on 7 June. The international day is directed towards ensuring food security and well-being. The event contributes to agriculture, sustainable development, economic prosperity, tourism, and market access all over the world. World Food Safety Day 2021 theme: The theme for this year’s World Food Safety Day is ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’. This theme has been chosen in order to encourage the consumption of food that is beneficial for human beings as well as the environment. World Food Safety Day significance: According to the United Nations (UN), access to a sufficient amount of safe food is the key to promoting good health and sustaining life. The aim of World Food Safety Day is to assure and educate people about food production and to highlight food processing, store and production. “An estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420 000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years,” UN states. World Food Safety Day history: In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared that 7 June would be observed as the World Food Safety Day every year. This was decided after the intergovernmental organisation observed the burden of food borne risks affecting human beings, including children under five and individuals living in low-income counties. In 2020, a resolution was passed by the World Health Assembly to strengthen the global food safety efforts in order to decrease the burden of food borne disease.