World Food Safety Day 2026: EFSA advancing safer food through science
Every year, unsafe food causes illness, long-term health problems and economic harm for millions of people worldwide. World Health Organization estimates that contaminated food causes 866 million illnesses and 1.52 million deaths annually, affecting nearly one in nine people globally. For the World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2026, EFSA is reaffirming its commitment to turning scientific evidence into safer food for everyone.
This year’s theme highlights the burden of foodborne diseases and the need for effective solutions to reduce it – an issue that sits at the heart of EFSA’s work on zoonoses and its One Healthintegrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems approach.
Food safety is often measured by the number of reported cases of disease. But the impact of foodborne diseases go far beyond these figures. EFSA not only looks at how many people become ill, but also at how severe an illness is and its longer-term health, social and economic consequences. This broader perspective provides a stronger scientific basis for prevention, risk assessmentA specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation and policymaking across the European Union.
Materials
To support World Food Safety Day communication activities, EFSA has developed a range of ready-to-use materials for partners across Europe. Materials developed under EFSA’s #Safe2Eat campaign include:
- editable visual materials for national use
- ready-to-use, localised social media content to support coherent messaging across Member States
- “Myth vs Fact” Instagram Story templates that can be localised by Member States
Discover our World Food Safety Day materials and follow us on social media to learn more about how science helps keep food safe and protects consumers across Europe.
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