World Food Safety Day 2022: Improving Food Safety in Fresh Food Markets

Tokyo (Japan), 7 June 2022 – The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) observed World Food Safety Day on 2 June 2022, when staff from WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific participated in a webinar jointly organized by FAO, UNEP, WFP, WHO and WOAH. The webinar’s theme was “Multisectoral action needed to raise awareness and promote action on food safety”, spotlighting the importance of food safety in the larger context of food systems.

The following takeaways were presented by speakers from participating organisations and others representing a broad field of stakeholders.

• Chantanee Buranathai, One Health Coordinator (WOAH), presented opening remarks stressing the need for a One Health approach to food safety, which was followed by a Mentimeter quiz with questions on food safety and traditional markets, led by Basilio Valdehuesa, Regional Communication Officer (WOAH).
• Makiko Yashiro, Regional Coordinator for the Nature Action Programme (UNEP), discussed methods of developing more sustainable food systems, highlighting links between food safety, contaminants and toxins, and the environment.
• Senior Public Health Officer (WHO) Gyanendra Gongal highlighted how traditional food markets in the region are both an integral part of communities’ social fabric, and a potential vector for foodborne diseases if sanitary conditions are not adequate. He presented a set of best practices developed by WHO, aimed at reducing foodborne disease risk in markets.

A panel discussion was moderated by Sridhar Dharmapuri, Senior Food Safety and Nutrition Officer (FAO), organized as a knowledge-sharing session on the management of food safety in traditional food markets.

• The panel featured speakers from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research in Bangladesh, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Cambodia, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in Hong Kong SAR, and the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, covering points such as:
  • The contamination of traditional markets’ air with influenza viruses in Bangladesh, and resulting necessary infrastructural changes and improved personal hygiene practices.
  • How government and academia work together in Hong Kong to develop and adopt regulations to control the spread of avian influenza in traditional markets.
  • Certification of traditional markets by the government in Thailand after the introduction of new regulations, bolstering traditional markets’ competitiveness with commercial supermarkets.
  • The similarities between a regulation framework in Cambodia to promote good agricultural practices, and the One Health approach.

The event was ably summed up by Jessica Kayamori Lopes, Technical Officer (WHO) who briefly reviewed all the points above, stressing that multisectoral action is required to raise awareness and attend to a complex problem.

All in all, the event addressed key global and domestic food safety challenges, spreading awareness of methods public officials, researchers, civil society members, and other stakeholders are recommending or taking to prevent and monitor potential foodborne hazards in traditional markets.

For more details on the event and World Food Safety Day, please refer to:

World Food Safety Day 2022 Webinar Event Summary and Details (with agenda and recording)

Photo (top banner): siamak djamei | Unsplash