More than a hundred people attended a high-level World Food Safety Day 2023 event at the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands in La Paz, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, on 7 June 2023. The participants stressed the importance of food production following international standards and continuing activities such as raising awareness among producers, food processors, and consumers. Moreover, a food fair exhibited products from twelve different producers, and there were plays for children highlighting the five keys to safer food.

“We wanted to highlight the importance of food safety and promote measures to help manage foodborne risks, for example, adoption and implementation of Codex standards. The high-level event was a good opportunity for a collaborative discussion contributing to food safety in the country,” said Jorge Berrios, ACT Project Coordinator in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Special guests at the high-level event included the Vice-Minister for User and Consumer Rights, the representatives from the National Codex Alimentarius Committee, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO-WHO), the National Chamber of Exporters of Bolivia (CANEB), and the FAO Country Representative.

In addition, the National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety (SENASAG) and FAO Bolivia organized a webinar on the importance of food safety along the food production chain. More than 200 food producers, professionals, and the general public attended the webinar, where they learned about food safety and good practices along the food chain, food safety under the One Health approach, surveillance of foodborne diseases, food safety assurance systems, the work of the Codex Alimentarius in the country, and the role of consumers. 

Outside of La Paz, eight other cities in the country organized high-level events and food fairs on World Food Safety Day 2023. SENASAG distributed information materials and educational posters and performed plays for children to show how food can be contaminated as well as how to keep it safe by presenting the five keys to safer food (keep clean; separate raw and cooked; cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, use safe water and raw materials).

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For more information about the ACT project, please visit:
https://www.fao.org/antimicrobial-resistance/projects/ongoing/project-10/en/

Photo @ FAO/Bolivia/SENASAG 
7 June 2023, Santa Cruz, the Plurinational State of Bolivia - Play for children to present five keys to food safety.