World Food Safety Day  
7 June | Africa Context

Why food safety matters in Africa
Safe, nutritious food is the foundation of healthy families and strong economies. But in Africa, unsafe food and water remain a daily threat. From farm to market to kitchen, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemicals can contaminate food when it’s invisible to the eye. The result: stomach illnesses, malnutrition, and lost income that hit women, children, and rural communities hardest.

Food safety means keeping food safe at every step — from planting and harvesting, to processing, storage, transport, market stalls, and home cooking. When one link breaks, the whole chain is at risk.

The reality across the continent
WHO estimates 600 million people get sick from unsafe food each year globally. Africa carries a heavy share:  
- 91 million Africans fall ill from contaminated food annually  
- 137,000 deaths each year, with *children under 5* bearing 40% of the burden  
- US$16.6 billion lost yearly in productivity and medical costs across sub-Saharan Africa  

Aflatoxins in maize and groundnuts, Salmonella in poultry and eggs, cholera from unsafe water, pesticide residues in vegetables, and spoilage due to poor cold storage are common risks from Dakar to Nairobi to Johannesburg. For pastoralist communities, street vendors, and smallholder farmers, one outbreak can wipe out a season’s income.

Food safety, everyone’s business in Africa:
World Food Safety Day is a chance to put safe food on Africa’s public agenda. WHO and FAO lead the observance, but the real change happens with African governments, farmers, traders, schools, and households working together.

Get involved — Africa’s role from farm to table 
Whether you farm in rural Zambia, sell suya by the roadside in Lagos, run a mama mboga stall in Nairobi, transport fish across Lake Victoria, or cook for your family in Accra — you have a role:  
1. Farmers & pastoralists: Use good agricultural practices, test for aflatoxins, store crops dry and off the ground  
2. Markets & vendors: Keep stalls clean, use safe water, cover food, separate raw and cooked items  
3. Transporters: Maintain cold chains for fish, milk, meat, and vegetables  
4. Processors: Follow hygiene standards and proper labeling  
5. Consumers & caregivers: Wash hands, cook food thoroughly, keep raw and cooked foods separate, use safe water  
6. Governments: Strengthen food inspection, invest in cold storage and clean water, support emergency response when outbreaks hit  
7. Schools & communities: Teach children the “5 Keys to Safer Food” and build food safety into school feeding programs  

Food safety drives Africa’s future  
Safe food supports more than health. It protects:  
- Food security for growing populations  
- Market access so African farmers can export to the EU, Middle East, and beyond  
- Tourism — travelers choose destinations with safe food  
- Women’s livelihoods — women make up most of Africa’s food traders and processors  
- Sustainable development and resilience against climate shocks  

Did you know? Africa edition  
1. Aflatoxin contamination costs Africa an estimated *US$670 million* in lost trade each year.  
2. Street food feeds millions of urban Africans daily — and with simple hygiene, it can be both safe and nutritious.  
3. The “5 Keys to Safer Food” by WHO: Keep clean | Separate raw & cooked | Cook thoroughly | Keep food at safe temperatures | Use safe water & raw materials.  

Unsafe food causes over 200 diseases, from diarrhea to cancer. But most cases are preventable with knowledge and simple actions.

This 7 June, let’s protect our plates, our people, and our prosperity. Because in Africa, food safety is everyone’s business.

#WorldFoodSafetyDay #SafeFoodAfrica #FromFarmToTable