As preparations continue for this year’s celebrations, the World Food Safety Day team has put together a “Programme of events” outlining activities organized by FAO, WHO and Codex to expand on the 2026 theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere”. 

FAO’s eLearning Academy has launched a new course, Risk Assessment in the Framework of Codex, expanding its “Effective participation in Codex work” series. All courses are available free of charge through the FAO eLearning platform. 

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, with profound consequences for food systems and public health. Floods, earthquakes, droughts, wildfires and volcanic events can disrupt supply chains, damage infrastructure, contaminate water sources and compromise food storage. 

Food contact materials (FCMs), including packaging, utensils, food processing equipment, preparation surfaces and transportation containers, play a crucial role in reducing food waste and loss. 

As global food supply chains grow more complex, managing food allergens is becoming one of the biggest challenges in consumer protection. 

Natural disasters disrupt food systems, creating complex multi-hazard environments, including significant food safety risks that require increasing attention as their frequency and severity rise. 

Some foodborne hazards do not begin with gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, but instead lead directly to severe invasive disease, including bloodstream infections, joint destruction, and long-term complications even in otherwise healthy adults. This is the reality of Streptococcus agalactiae sequence type 283 (ST283), also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a zoonotic pathogen linked to freshwater fish and aquaculture systems. The comprehensive review “Rethinking Group B Streptococcus: The rise of sequence type 283 as a foodborne zoonotic pathogen”, published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety (http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.70471), brings together current evidence on this food safety concern and its broader implications.

As foods produced using cell culture techniques continue to advance in both research and commercialization, discussions are increasingly focusing on how existing food safety frameworks are being applied in practice across different contexts. This perspective framed a side event held during the 56th session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA56) in Chongqing, China, where participants exchanged views on current experiences and approaches to risk analysis. Co-hosted by Singapore, China and the Republic of Korea, the session brought together contributions from FAO, WHO, Australia, the European Commission and stakeholders, reflecting a range of regulatory and technical perspectives.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will host a webinar to launch the report “Food safety implications of recycled plastics and alternative food contact materials (FCMs).” The event will bring together food safety experts and stakeholders to discuss food safety aspects that need to be considered and addressed when using recycled and alternative materials in food packaging.

With World Food Safety Day approaching on 7 June, FAO invites partners, institutions and stakeholders from across the food chain to join a webinar on 7 April at 13:00-14:00 CET to begin preparing activities and initiatives for this special day.

More than 550 participants from various parts of the world registered for the webinar "Food loss and waste reduction at FAO: Key initiatives, regional projects and food safety perspectives," organized by the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

On 11 March 2026, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened an online debriefing meeting with national counterparts in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to share the preliminary results of an assessment of the country’s capacity to monitor residues of veterinary drugs in food.

Chad is strengthening its national food control system and enhancing its participation in the development of international food standards through a comprehensive FAO-supported initiative. 

Food systems are becoming increasingly complex, while foodborne pathogens continue to evolve and emerge. As a result, methods used to assess microbial risks must advance to keep pace. 

The 2026 joint FAO and WHO World Food Safety Day campaign launched today revealing this year's theme: “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere”.

Fermentation is one of the oldest food technologies that has been evolving alongside humanity, is rooted in our traditions, and yet full of promise for the future of food production. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) held a webinar bringing together food safety experts and stakeholders to present key findings of the joint FAO/WHO report, Prioritizing food safety issues related to chemical water quality in agrifood systems. 

On 11 March 2026, 14:00 – 16:00 hrs (Rome time), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will hold a webinar entitled "Food loss and waste reduction at FAO: Key initiatives, regional projects and food safety perspectives.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have renewed and deepened their long‑standing collaboration, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 19 February 2026 to advance scientific cooperation and strengthen global food safety governance.