On 8 June, FAO hosted a high-level hybrid event titled From standards to solutions: advancing a One Health approach through implementation of Codex AMR texts to reduce foodborne antimicrobial resistance. Held on the sidelines of FAO Council week and in honour of World Food Safety Day, the event explored how Codex texts can provide solutions to the global burden of foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In discussing the successes of the FAO-implemented and Republic of Korea-funded Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT) project, participants also looked at how these achievements can be sustained to inform future One Health actions.

Opening the event, the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu welcomed the Korean Ambassador, Kim Choon-goo, and other high-level guests. He explained that the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its most recent estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease. “The news is good!” he reported. “Fewer people are getting sick from unsafe food.” The Director-General went on to recall that when working in his home country of China, it was the high standards of safety demanded by Japan – a market China was then hoping to access – that led his colleagues working in food safety to improve their standards. “We had good examples in our neighbours … the demand for higher quality forces you to change” he said. The Director-General then went on to note that the WHO data are “a clear demonstration that investing in food safety works, but it also reminds us that there is still much to be done.” He made the point that Codex standards, when implemented, represent a cornerstone of efforts to provide solutions to foodborne disease.

Ambassador Kim Choon-goo then gave the opening remarks, in which he noted that “Korea’s enduring partnership with FAO dates back to 1949.” That partnership, he went on, has been marked by “strategic financial contributions” to FAO’s work on food safety through support to “concrete cooperation projects designed to strengthen national capacities, promote science-based standards, and help countries translate global guidance into tangible, on-the-ground solutions.” The Ambassador also noted the Republic of Korea’s strong commitment to the Codex Alimentarius: “Korea has also been a staunch supporter of the Codex Alimentarius and the implementation of science-based international food standards. We firmly believe that Codex standards play a vital role in protecting consumers, ensuring fair practices in food trade and providing a unified foundation for collective action,” he said.

The event was divided into two panel discussions, the first on ACT Project experiences and successes in tackling foodborne AMR and the second, in recognition of the need for investment and global leadership in efforts to tackle AMR, was on “the way forward”. Codex Secretary, Sarah Cahill, moderated the first discussion, which heard from Corinna Hawkes, Director of FAO’s Agrifood systems and Food Safety Division (ESF), Delgerjargal Ganbold, First Secretary, Embassy of Mongolia, Carolina Tejerina Vertiz, Specialist in Surveillance and Control of Contaminants, Food Safety, of the National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Service of the Plurinational State of Bolivia SENASAG, who joined virtually, and Junxia Song, Chief of One Health and Disease Control, Animal Production and Health Division (NSA).

In reference to the World Food Safety Day theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere”, Corinna Hawkes explained that solutions require a systems approach. “That means that we really recognize that antimicrobial resistance is a systems challenge,” she said. “It's not just caused by a single factor, it's a complex interaction between animals, plants, environment, and humans. And that means that we cannot solve it through single interventions.” In concluding she cited inclusive government structures as one key element of such an approach, and referenced ACT project work in the Plurinational State of Bolivia as a key example. Carolina Tejerina Vertiz was then able to illustrate this point by talking about the Bolivian Committee for the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural Health and Food Safety (CC-RAM). “A key element of CC-RAM is its composition. It brings together public and private institutions: competent authorities, productive sector organizations, professional associations, agricultural input marketers and the pharmaceutical industry, among others. This has allowed not only broad representation, but also progress towards a co-responsibility approach.” 

Under the ACT Project, Mongolia translated and wrote into law 12 Codex texts to strengthen policy around AMR. “This was an important governance achievement, but it also required awareness at the policy and institutional levels. Decision-makers needed to understand why AMR is relevant to food safety, animal health, and public health, and why Codex texts provide an important foundation for national action,” said Delgerjargal Ganbold, who also described how awareness was extended through the food supply chain to herders and other primary producers. Junxia Song then described FAO’s work to improve surveillance and monitoring of AMR, and FAO’s International FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (InFARM). “Surveillance can help us to understand where AMR is emerging, and how it is spreading, and also where's the risk along the value chains,” she said, “and also allowing us to follow the trends over the time, and to really measure if the actions in the field are actually working or not. … Codex guidelines really provide practical, science-based guidance to our Member Countries to guide their actions to address AMR through the One Health approach.” The panellists all agreed that One Health actions are necessary in order to contain AMR, and that the ACT project provides excellent examples of the kinds of actions that can bring together the different in a One Health approach.

The second panel discussion was moderated by Thanawat Tiensin, Director of the Animal Health and Production division. He was joined by Evelyn Ashton-Griffiths, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Rome, Kim Hyun Jung, Director General, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Republic of Korea, and Beatrice Tuei, Agricultural Attaché at the Kenyan Embassy in Rome. Evelyn Ashton-Griffiths opened the discussion by describing the importance of AMR to the United Kingdom. “The UK has been proud to play what we think has been a really important role in the global response to AMR, both through our international advocacy, our work with others, but also through our investments,” she said. She referred to the British fund named after Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin: “Internationally, the Fleming Fund has supported countries to strengthen actions to address AMR, including surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, and data generation across human, animal, plant, and environmental sectors. Working in collaboration with FAO, national governments, and technical experts, the Fleming Fund has strengthened systems to build a stronger evidence base, enabling more informed policy and stewardship interventions.” Kim Hyun Jung then talked about the leadership role the Republic of Korea has played in addressing foodborne AMR. “Korea recognizes that foodborne AMR is a cross-border issue that no country can solve alone,” she said, and described the crucial role played by the Republic of Korea in the development of the Codex AMR texts. “At the same time,” she continued, “Korea believes that the value of Codex texts can only be realized when they are implemented in practice.” This was the motivation behind the Korean support for the ACT Project.

Finally, Beatrice Tuei was able to describe how Kenya, a global leader on AMR,  has turned commitment into action. “Kenya has recognized that AMR affects human health, animal health, food security, livelihoods, and trade.,” she said. “That is why we developed a national policy on prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance.” She described the governance structure the country has put in place, which included the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Interagency committee. “These structures bring together government ministries responsible for health, livestock, agriculture, and environment to ensure that AMR interventions are country-led, aligned with national priorities, and sustainably implemented.” Prevention measures have been put in place across the livestock and other sectors. “International, public, goods have played a critical supporting role,” she noted. “The Codex Alimentarius Commission provides science-based food safety standards and guidance, specifically, the three Codex AMR texts that have been discussed here.”

The event looked forward to the Global Conference on One Health to be hosted by FAO in September of this year.

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World Food Safety Day 2026