World Food Safety Day Brings New Data, Tools and Training Resources

World Food Safety Day is June 7, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) and Codex Alimentarius Commission are hosting several events to expand on the 2026 theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere.”

WHO Releases Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group Report.

World Food Safety Day 2026 is led by WHO and focuses on the release of the second Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) report, presenting updated estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease. WHO released the data online on June 4. It estimates that unsafe food causes 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths annually, with young children at the highest risk.

New FAO Content Highlights Food Safety Tools.

A new FAO feature story, “The inspector at the border: assessing risks to deliver food safety in the Comoros,” released June 4, shares the experience of a food safety inspector in Comoros who participated in one of the assessments supported by FAO in 30 countries worldwide. The story highlights FAO’s work to strengthen national food control systems with the FAO/WHO Food Control System Assessment Tool. Focusing on the introduction of risk-based inspection approaches in Comoros, it shows how targeted capacity development and stronger coordination between agencies are helping improve food safety, protect consumers and support trade, said WHO.

FAO will also publish a new episode of its podcast series, “The Work We Do,” featuring Secretary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Sarah Cahill. In conversation with podcast host Kathrin Park, the episode explores the role of Codex standards in addressing the burden of foodborne disease and their relevance to this year’s theme.  

A new “Codex in Action” story will highlight how Codex texts help countries tackle major food safety hazards and strengthen consumer protection worldwide.  

Webinar to Cover FAO’s ACT Project and One Health Actions.

On June 8, FAO will convene the webinar “From Standards to Solutions: Advancing a  One Health Approach through Implementation of Codex AMR Texts to Reduce Foodborne  Antimicrobial Resistance.” The session will bring  together international experts to highlight FAO’s ACT project and discuss One Health actions to sustain progress in tackling foodborne  antimicrobial resistance.

The event will begin at 6:30 a.m. ET. Register here.

FAO Releases Risk-Based Inspection Resource Kit.

On June 16, FAO will convene the global webinar “Using Risk Categorization to Improve Food Inspection Programmes.” The session will introduce FAO’s new risk-based inspection resource kit, developed to support countries in designing and implementing more effective, science-based food inspection systems. Bringing together food safety experts, national authorities and international partners, the webinar will explore experiences and lessons learned in applying risk-based approaches to strengthen public health protection, improve resource allocation and build more resilient food control systems worldwide. 

The event begins at 9:30 a.m. ET. Register here.  

More Virtual Talks to Come.

WHO said it is organizing a series of virtual talks throughout June to offer a deeper dive into key topics from the FERG report. The World Food Safety Day events pages will share updates and details as they become available.