On this, the 80th World Food Day, Codex joins the celebrations of FAO’s 80 years of service to the farmers, fishers, livestock rearers, environmentalists, economists, statisticians, governments, traders and consumers, including the marginalized, across the world. The Organization has been celebrating throughout the year, with celebrations culminating this week in the first ever FAO Global Exhibition, which took place in Rome, the opening of the FAO museum and network and one of the biggest meetings to take place in FAO headquarters – the 2025 World Food Forum. 

World Food Day is celebrated in this auspicious year under the theme of “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”. FAO is calling for “global collaboration in creating a peaceful, sustainable, prosperous, and food-secure future”. In recalling the many challenges the world is facing today, the theme makes the case for coming together across sectors so “everyone has access to a healthy diet, living in harmony with the planet.”

Codex is proud to be an integral part of this work. In setting the food safety and quality standards that serve as the benchmark in the international food trade, Codex provides the basis of how food is kept safe, wherever it is from. And by facilitating the harmonized trade in food, the implementation of Codex texts also plays a fundamental role both in the sustainable livelihoods of small producers, and in economies worldwide.

Codex texts are also fundamental to FAO’s mission to end hunger, ensure food security for all and guarantee access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. This mission is not possible without food that is both safe and nutritious. The Codex Alimentarius provides the guidance needed by governments and the food industry to prevent, detect and manage foodborne illness, so that the food people eat benefits them as it should.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is also committed to ensuring a better future in international food standards setting so that it can continue to serve the Members of Codex and FAO. The upcoming Codex strategic plan 2026–2031 will commit not only to greater collaboration, but also, with FAO’s support, to a forward-looking programme that ensures Codex work stays ahead of emerging trends.

Codex has played its part in the Rome-based celebrations, with the installation of the FAO and Codex Fishmonger interactive. In this interactive display a fishmonger selling different fish and fishery products points to short video messages from FAO and Codex experts who explain the different associated food safety hazards and how FAO and Codex work together to reduce risk and make these products safe to eat. The Fishmonger also features in the FAO museum and network and will soon be available online.

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World Food Day
FAO museum and network