Several government agencies are combining efforts to organize events marking
World Food Safety Day, today, June 7.
The Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards, in its capacity as the National
Codex Contact Point (NCCP), said it is celebrating World Food Safety Day
(WFSD) with its stakeholder counterparts in the Ministries of Agriculture and
Health, under the theme ‘Food Standards save lives.’
WFSD 2023 also marks the 60 th Anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission, which is the body responsible for setting international standards for
food safety, food and guidelines for food trade.
The Bureau of Standards said WFSD 2023 activities will consist of media
appearances spanning Tuesday 6 th to Thursday 8 th June 2023, to include personnel
from the Bureau of Standards, Department of Analytical Services, and the Ministry
of Health – Central Board of Health. Feature activities will be:
CBH Mock supermarket appearances outside Chase, Epicurean, and at
Woods Centre near Cost Pro on World Food Safety Day – Wednesday 7 th
June 2023, to raise consumer awareness on making safe food purchases.
World Food Safety Day on the WTP Radio (93.5 FM) “Wellness Corner”
feature on Thursday 8 th June 2023 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., with Solange
Baptiste from the Bureau of Standards, Kelvene Spencer from the
Department of Analytical Services and a medical practitioner (to be named),
to discuss the nuances and medical impact of Foodborne pathogens; and
The sharing of a special poster on food pathogens by Ms. Kelvene Spencer,
for WFSD 2023.
Regionally and internationally, numerous webinars and awareness activities are
being held all this week, to strengthen the message of the importance of food
standards for health and wellbeing.
PAHO through its WFSD 2023 webpage shares that “…600 million people get sick
due to the 200 different types of illnesses that can be transmitted by food; and that
“Foodborne illnesses cause 420,000 preventable deaths every year.” The National
Codex Contact Point (NCCP) in the Bureau of Standards highlights two (2) calls to
action to encourage consumers to:
1. Know what foods are safe; and,
2. Team up (or collaborate) for food safety.
