On 7 June 2023 the world will celebrate the fifth United Nations World Food Safety Day and this year the theme is “food standards save lives”.

A video will be launched in six languages to coincide with World Food Safety Day explaining what food safety standards are and why they matter.

Standards and norms are all around us. They can be used to measure, to express quality and quantity or to calculate a level or grade. They provide certainty. They can, for example, provide a scale for temperature, describe the form factor of a USB stick, or give precise definitions for quantities of data. They can help us understand time and currency or agree on the gauge of a railway track.

The video makes creative visual comparisons between everyday situations where standards play a role and those defined for food. When it comes to food, standards basically define what is safe and what is not, minimizing risks from biological, chemical or physical hazards in food.

Based on the most robust science available and agreed through consensus by the 189 Members of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, international food safety standards protect consumers and facilitate trade.

All types of food are regulated by standards. And when those standards are applied, food stays safe. They provide a common language, in the same way a dictionary defines a term, and they also provide a level playing field for trade. Since 1963, FAO and WHO have worked through their joint food safety programme Codex Alimentarius to develop food safety standards that save lives.

Watch the new video in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

Learn more

World Food Safety Day web site