Mr Dr Qu Dongyu, Director-General of FAO,
Mr Guilherme Antonio da Costa Júnior, Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues and friends,
On behalf of the World Health Organization, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 43rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Despite the global challenge of COVID-19, the work of Codex Alimentarius is continuing.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions, the scientific expert panels and various other WHO guideline development meetings have been able to continue.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for our experts and their willingness to continue providing their scientific insights under these challenging conditions.
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The pandemic is both a health and a humanitarian crisis.
It has exposed the fragility not only of health systems, but also of food systems.
It has highlighted the intimate and fragile links between the health of humans, animals and the planet we share.
It has demonstrated that we can only protect our own health with a “OneHealth” approach.
At the same time, the pandemic has highlighted the need for resilient, fair and sustainable food systems to ensure the availability and affordability of safe and nutritious food for all.
Together with FAO, WHO has developed guidance for food businesses and for authorities responsible for national food safety control systems on COVID-19 and food safety.
And with our colleagues in FAO, UNICEF and WFP, we recently launched a call to action to ramp up our efforts to fight malnutrition during this crisis, and to combine our efforts on health, food systems and social protection.
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This year, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on “Strengthening efforts on food safety”.
The resolution reaffirms that food safety is a public health priority. It shows the commitment of Member States to strengthening national food safety systems and lowering the burden of foodborne disease.
It calls for greater investment in Codex Alimentarius.
The resolution also requests an update to the WHO Global strategy for food safety, in coordination with FAO and in consultation with Member States and OIE, for possible adoption at the World Health Assembly in 2022.
This strategy aims to address current and emerging challenges and will consider innovative approaches for strengthening food safety systems.
Specifically, the strategy is designed to harmonize efforts among UN partner agencies, Member States, and non-State actors in food safety.
A technical advisory group is being established to advise WHO on the update of the global strategy and a series of consultations is planned in the coming year with all relevant stakeholders.
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This year on 7 June, we celebrated World Food Safety Day for the second time.
Under the theme “Food safety, everyone’s business”, the WHO-led event focused on building and maintaining safe food in marketplaces.
All actors in the food system were invited to promote awareness about what everyone can do to ensure food safety, especially in markets, and for the need to reinforce hygienic practices.
[Hold up report].
To mark the day, WHO published the World Food Safety Day report, with five calls to action:
Ensure it’s safe.
Grow it safe.
Keep it safe.
Eat it safe.
And team up for safety.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to everyone who has contributed to this report.
The tripartite agencies – FAO, OIE and WHO – along with the UN Environment Programme, have also developed a guidance document to make traditional food markets safer.
We look forward to its implementation.
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We are pleased to see that food safety is starting to get more attention at the highest political levels.
The UN Secretary-General has announced the convening of the UN Food Systems Summit, to be held later next year.
WHO is looking forward to working with partners to ensure that a health lens is used in the preparations for the Summit.
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Dear colleagues and friends,
Thank you all for your continued commitment to ensuring all people have access to safe and nutritious food.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an enormous challenge, but it’s also an opportunity – an opportunity to change.
WHO is working not only to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate its consequences, but also to support countries in building back better.
We look forward to a continued collaboration with the Codex Alimentarius Commission in improving food safety and nutrition for everyone, everywhere.
Thank you, and I wish you a very successful meeting.