PRESS RELEASE – WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY – Food Standards save lives

 

 

The Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards in its capacity as the National Codex Contact Point (NCCP) celebrates World Food Safety Day (WFSD) on 7th June 2023, with its stakeholder counterparts in Agriculture and Health, under the theme ‘Food standards save lives’. WFSD 2023 also marks the 60h Anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is the body responsible for setting international standards for food safety, food and guidelines for food trade.

 

WFSD 2023 activities will consist of media appearances spanning Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th June 2023, to include personnel from the Bureau of Standards, Department of Analytical Services and the Ministry of Health – Central Board of Health. Feature activities will be the:

· CBH Mock supermarket appearances outside Chase, Epicurean and at Woods Centre near Cost Pro on World Food Safety Day – Wednesday 7th June 2023, to raise consumer awareness on making safe food purchases;

· World Food Safety Day on the WTP Radio(93.5 FM) “Wellness Corner” feature on Thursday 8th June 2023 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., with Solange Baptiste from the Bureau of Standards, Kelvene Spencer from the Department of Analytical Services and a medical practitioner (to be named), to discuss the nuances and medical impact of Food borne pathogens; and

· The sharing of a special poster on food pathogens by Ms Kelvene Spencer, for WFSD 2023.

Regionally and internationally numerous webinars and awareness activities are being held all this week to strengthen the message of the importance of food standards for health and wellbeing.

 

PAHO through its WFSD 2023 webpage shares that “…600 million people get sick due to the 200 different types of illnesses that can be transmitted by food; and that “Foodborne illnesses cause 420,000 preventable deaths every year.” The National Codex Contact Point (NCCP) in the Bureau of Standards highlights two (2) calls to action to encourage consumers to:

1. Know what foods are safe; and,

2. Team up (or collaborate) for food safety.

 

– – END – –