FAO, WHO unveil 2025 World Food Safety Day theme as campaign launches

GLOBAL – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have officially launched the 2025 World Food Safety Day campaign, celebrated on June 7th, to raise awareness of food safety issues. 

This year’s theme is “Food Safety: Science in Action”, and it emphasises the crucial role of scientific research in preventing foodborne illnesses, which affect 1.6 million people daily and impose an annual economic burden of US$110 billion in low- and middle-income countries. 

Foodborne illnesses—nearly 200 types, ranging from diarrhea to cancer—disproportionately affect developing countries due to inadequate food safety regulations, poor sanitation, limited access to clean water, weak infrastructure, insufficient food safety education, and high poverty levels that increase exposure to contaminated food.

To address this issue, starting in 2018, the FAO and the World Health Organization have been raising awareness on the importance of food safety, every 7th of June annually, through the World Food Safety Day campaigns under different focal themes.

This year, the campaign will focus on science’s crucial role in advancing research and knowledge to keep food safe, emphasising the vital role of all stakeholders – governments, businesses, and consumers – in putting that knowledge into action through effective policies, practices, and responsible choices to safeguard food at every stage.

Through a collaborative video announcement, FAO’s Director of the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, Corinna Hawkes, and the WHO’s Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Luz De Regil, explained that science helps us understand what makes food unsafe and guides us on how to prevent foodborne diseases.

“It is not only the knowledge of science that keeps our food safe. It is, rather, our actions. Actions based on the guidance and advice developed by scientists,” they said. “Science is at the heart of food safety.”

Resources to support global participation 

To facilitate the celebrations, the FAO and the WHO have produced a “Get started Toolkit” in all six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) to help everyone organise their World Food Safety Day activities. 

The toolkit takes you through the theme, providing ideas on celebrating the day with key messages and links to various communications assets to help event organisers promote the Day. 

Additionally, a “Get ready” webinar will take place on 7 April 2025, with World Food Safety Day teams from FAO and WHO discussing the theme and communications resources available for this year’s celebration. 

Further updates and information regarding the campaign, including the launch toolkit, can be found on the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius or WHO World Food Safety Day 2025 webpage.

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