Starting in 2019, “World Food Safety Day” is celebrated on June 7 at the initiative of OMS, FAO and CODEX Alimentarius. The goal of this day is to raise awareness about the importance of food safety in protecting the health of all people by promoting awareness about the health safety of food of all kinds.
The annual Food Crises Report, released in May 2023 by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), shows a steady increase in the number of people facing severe levels of food insecurity in 2022. According to the Global Food Crises Report (GRFC), produced by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), more than a quarter of a billion people, spread across 58 countries, are suffering from acute hunger and urgently require food and nutrition assistance.
The report shows that the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity increased for the fourth consecutive year, reaching 258 million in 2022 (22.7 percent), up from 193 million recorded in 2021 (21.3 percent). This represents the highest number ever reported in the report’s seven years of publication.
The causes of acute hunger include armed conflicts, extreme weather events and the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the effects of the war in Ukraine have contributed to the increase in hunger, especially in the world’s poorest countries, which are highly dependent vulnerable to fluctuations in global food prices.
ITA 0039 recently promoted the theme of food safety during the event that saw ASACERT and Coldiretti renew the agreement that, in 2019, gave birth to the collaboration between the two parties on the basis of activities related to ITA0039 | 100% Italian Taste Certification, Certification Protocol for Italian restaurants around the world. At the Coldiretti Village in Bari, Fabrizio Capaccioli, CEO of ASACERT, and Ettore Prandini, President of Coldiretti, reaffirmed and strengthened their commitment to expand activities to protect and promote Italian agrifood production, among the healthiest on the Planet, which gives rise to the foods that are the basis of the Mediterranean diet first, among others, in U.S. News&World’s annual Report’s ranking.
“The latest surveys highlight how Italian products remain among the most appreciated worldwide, even in difficult situations such as the one we are experiencing,” said Fabrizio Capaccioli, CEO of ASACERT and creator of the ITA0039 | 100% Italian Taste Certification Protocol. “At this time, more than ever, it is important to focus everything on the safety and certification of 100% Made in Italy products. Our goal must be to make Made in Italy the symbol of safe and quality products, strengthening the supply Hubs in the world, to make healthy certified Italian products, available at all latitudes as a fundamental tool to spread food safety.”
Complying with food safety requirements, means ensuring the hygienic and sanitary quality of food, making the production process safe and thus preventing risks related to the outbreak of pandemics, allergic reactions and serious diseases to the body.
Mandatory requirements on food hygiene are defined within horizontal and vertical regulations, i.e., referring to the food sector in general and to the individual type of food. These regulations regulate the activities of all those involved in the food supply chain: from farmers and breeders, to sales and brokerage companies.
Therefore, one of the main issues to be addressed when talking about safe food is that of controls and certifications of authenticity and quality.
ITA0039 by ASACERT also makes available to consumers around the world the ITA0039 App, thanks to which they can find out if the products that are on the shelves and that often unknowingly, end up in the shopping cart, are really Italian, protecting the health of citizens and the agri-food supply chains of our country. World Food Safety Day is every day, for those who constantly fight for the wholesomeness and certainty of food provenance.
