An online round table was held in the Republic of Kazakhstan on the topic: “Safe food for a healthy future” dedicated to World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2021, which was organized by the European Regional Codex Alimentarius Commission in cooperation with the country offices of FAO and WHO, as well as with the participation of the OIE subregional representation for Central Asia in Nur-Sultan.
The Round Table was attended by about 150 participants from neighboring countries, Europe and the Middle East region, representatives of WHO country offices, FAO, the OIE subregional representation for Central Asia, the WHO European Office, EEC, and FAO Investment Center (Rome).
During the online meeting, the participants discussed several topical issues and problems related to food safety in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Today, food security is an important component of food security, where the food supply chain has become more complex, any incident related to food security can have large-scale negative consequences for public health, trade, and the economy.
As noted by the Chairperson of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Karsybekova Nailya annually 600 million, which is almost every tenth person in the world, fall ill with about 200 different types of foodborne diseases, 420 000 thousand of which die annually, which leads to the loss of 33 million years of healthy, fulfilling life. 40% of the burden of foodborne disease occurs in children under 5 years of age, of whom 125 000 die each year.
The OIE subregional representation for Central Asia has given its contribution with the presentation on “The role of veterinary services in the food safety system according to the OIE standards”. The presentation gave information about what is stated on the Terrestrial Animal Health Code about the roles and responsibilities of Veterinary Services, the activities of Veterinary Services throughout the food chain and during the foodborne disease outbreaks emphasizing the importance of the One Health approach.
The World Food Safety Day acquires a special sound at the present time, the time of challenges. While COVID-19 is not foodborne, the pandemic has highlighted food safety issues such as hygiene, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic disease, climate change, food fraud, and the potential benefits of digitizing food systems. The pandemic has also exposed vulnerabilities in food production and control systems. Following the Global One Health Concept, a One Health Mechanism was established at the regional level in Europe in April this year between WHO, OIE, and FAO, in which food safety is considered as a separate component along with AMR and zoonoses.
The participants agreed that access to adequate amounts of safe and nutritious food is key to maintaining life and promoting health.
World Food Safety Day has given everyone in charge of the farm-to-table food chain an opportunity to rethink what we often take for granted: food safety.
