The slogan for World Food Safety Day 2022 reminds us that we all play a role in keeping food safe. Foundation FSSC is proud to support World Food Safety Day again this year, as we advocate alongside WHO to prioritize food safety throughout the whole supply chain, from farm to table.
Safe food is one of the most critical guarantors of good health. Unsafe foods cause many diseases and contribute to other poor health conditions, such as impaired growth and development, micronutrient deficiencies, non-communicable or communicable diseases, and mental illness. Each year, 1 in 10 people get ill by eating unsafe food. But we do have the ability to take action.
Food Safety Culture - starts with you!
No matter where you stand in the food supply chain, you can promote a food safety culture. By demonstrating that food safety is a priority, we develop a culture that emphasizes safety, cleanliness, and the importance of following well-established food safety protocols—helping to ensure that everyone works continuously toward the food safety mission.
To enhance a positive food safety culture, the following elements are key:
- Communication
- Training
- Feedback and engagement from employees
- Performance measurement on food safety related activities
Everyone involved in food production, processing, distribution, and retail can help to ensure compliance with standards to identify, evaluate and control food safety hazards.
Businesses within the Food Supply Chain should constantly review their food safety commitments. Compliance with national and international food standards helps ensure food safety and opens routes to a broader distribution channel for your food business. GFSI promotes a food safety culture and integrates it into food safety management systems, like FSSC 22000.
A positive Food Safety Culture is the backbone of any effective food safety management system. Therefore food safety culture is also an important element covered in the FSSC 22000 Scheme. To support our CBs and organizations, a guidance document has been developed that sets out our approach to food safety culture, how the important elements are covered, including how it is addressed in ISO 22000 and how to assess it. The guidance document is available as a free download on our website.
Don't forget to take Food Safety Culture home!
Food safety is still a shared responsibility, and individual consumers and food handlers also play a massive role in preventing food-borne diseases. The “Five keys to safer food” messages were developed and validated by an independent body of international scientists in 2001 to empower consumers worldwide. It provides a simple and applicable set of actions to prevent food-borne diseases and promote a food safety culture at home.
- The poster with the Five Keys messages has been translated into 88 languages and is available for free online here.
About World Food Safety Day
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 facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day in collaboration with Member States and other stakeholders.
- Additional Resources: “A guide to World Food Safety Day 2022: Safer food, better health.”
