The United Nations is observing World Food Safety Day 2019 on June 7th in order to shine a light on the issues of producing, storing, handling and consuming food and how these processes affect the safety of the food we consume. This year would mark the inauguration of World Food Safety Day and the UN aims at spreading awareness about safety of food at every stage of the chain- from farm to your table. According to the official website of the UN, an estimated 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses are reported annually. The organization further says, "..unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies, disproportionally affecting vulnerable and marginalized people, especially women and children, populations affected by conflict, and migrants."
The UN further said that an estimated three million people die due to food and water-borne diseases, which indicates the seriousness of the issue. Inaugural Food Safety Day events will be held in New York and these will aim at, discussing ways in which food safety can incentivise health diets as well as discussing how observing this day can further support the efforts of improving food safety elsewhere.
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World Food Safety Day 2019 Theme And Objective
The theme of the inaugural Food Safety Day is 'Food Safety, Everyone's Business' and the goals for observing the day include ensuring food security, improving the health and nutritional intake of people around the globe, ensuring the move towards sustainable patterns of food production and consumption and finally, strengthening international cooperation across sectors to ensure that food is safe. The day is an attempt by the global body to promote discussions on the public issue of food safety, which the UN has emphasised, is everyone's business, from the farmer and manufacturer to the consumer.
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World Food Safety Day 2019: The theme of the inaugural Food Safety Day is 'Food Safety, Everyone's Business'
Food Safety Day 2019: Tips To Ensure Food Safety At Home
1. Always wash your hands, utensils, kitchen counter-tops and the gas stoves, after every cooking session. A cursory cleaning of kitchen every day and a thorough cleaning every three or four days is important to ensure that no bacteria can grow in your kitchen.
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2. Keep raw foods refrigerated or in cool places to prevent rot and spoilage. Try and keep raw foods apart from each other, as germs can easily spread from one food to another.
3. Make sure you keep all outlets leading from the kitchen to the outdoors shut, so as to prevent the entry of insects and rodents into the kitchen. Install proper protective nets on the windows to stop the entry of mosquitoes and other small insects.
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4. Always wash or thoroughly rinse your fresh produce before cooking them, even if they are organically sourced. They may be harbouring harmful germs.
5. Cook your foods to adequate levels of doneness. Use a food thermometer to check the level of doneness of meats, vegetables and other food items.
(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)