World Food Safety Day 2026: Cultivating Food Safety from Burden to Solutions

Every year on 7 June, the global community commemorates World Food Safety Day to raise awareness and inspire action against foodborne risks. In 2026, the campaign adopts the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) theme: “From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food Everywhere.” This theme shifts the conversation from merely highlighting the devastating impacts of unsafe food to implementing practical, evidence-based solutions across the entire food system.

Unsafe food remains one of the most persistent yet often overlooked threats to human development. Foodborne illnesses continue to undermine public health, livelihoods, and economic growth worldwide. An estimated 600 million people nearly one in every ten people globally fall ill each year after consuming contaminated food, leading to approximately 420,000 preventable deaths. Children under the age of five bear a disproportionate share of this burden, accounting for 40% of foodborne diseases despite representing only a small fraction of the global population.

The economic consequences are equally alarming. According to the World Bank, unsafe food costs low- and middle-income countries an estimated USD 110 billion annually through lost productivity, healthcare expenses, and trade-related losses. The major causes remain largely unchanged: harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli, viruses, chemical contaminants, heavy metals and plastics, and naturally occurring toxins such as aflatoxins.

Despite Uganda's immense agricultural potential, food safety challenges remain significant. Historically, efforts to improve food security have often received greater attention than food safety. Yet, ensuring that food is safe is just as important as ensuring that it is available. Available public health data indicate that foodborne illnesses account for approximately 1.3 million diagnosed cases annually in Uganda, representing about 14% of all illnesses treated in health facilities.

Food safety is more than a public health issue; it is a foundation for economic stability, market access, consumer confidence, and human dignity. Fresh and perishable foods sold in both formal markets and informal roadside stalls contribute substantially to this burden. Translating the global call from burden to solutions into the Uganda requires rethinking old practices, modernizing fragmented regulatory systems, and ensuring that all stakeholders play their part.

For decades, Uganda's food safety system has been overseen by multiple ministries and sector-specific agencies responsible for crops, livestock, fisheries, standards, and public health. While these institutions play critical roles in safeguarding food quality and consumer health, the fragmented nature of the regulatory framework has often resulted in coordination challenges, overlapping mandates, and inconsistent enforcement.

The amendment of the Public Health Act in 2023 marked an important step toward modernizing Uganda's public health governance and updating several outdated provisions. However, effective food safety oversight still requires stronger institutional coordination, adequate investment in inspection and laboratory systems, and a more integrated approach that addresses food safety risks across the entire value chain.

Today, Uganda faces three major food safety vulnerabilities:

1. The Aflatoxin Challenge; Aflatoxins are toxic substances produced by Aspergillus moulds that thrive in poorly dried and improperly stored grains. They commonly contaminate maize, groundnuts, and sorghum, posing serious health risks and contributing to trade barriers and export rejections within regional markets, a situation we have experienced occasionally with Kenya and South Sudan.

2.  Chemical Misuse; The improper or excessive use of pesticides, herbicides, and veterinary medicines has increased concerns about chemical residues in crops, dairy products, and meat. Inadequate knowledge of safe application practices and withdrawal periods continues to expose consumers to unnecessary risks.

3. Poor Post-Harvest Hygiene; Limited storage facilities, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, and unhygienic handling practices in informal markets expose food products to microbial contamination. These challenges are particularly acute for highly perishable products such as milk, meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables.

Despite these challenges, Uganda is making important strides towards strengthening its food safety systems. In early 2025, Uganda hosted the 25th Session of the FAO/WHO Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA25) in Kampala, signaling a renewed commitment to harmonizing food standards across the continent and supporting trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In addition, the government is developing a comprehensive National Food Safety Policy and exploring the establishment of a centralized Agriculture and Food Safety Agency to address existing regulatory gaps and improve coordination among institutions.

Recommendations

Transforming Uganda's food safety landscape requires a comprehensive approach that addresses risks across the entire food value chain. Three priority actions are particularly important.

1. Shift from reactive responses to Risk-Based Prevention; rather than responding only after disease outbreaks occur or export consignments are rejected, Uganda should strengthen preventive, data-driven food safety systems. This includes investing in food testing laboratories, surveillance systems, and early warning mechanisms capable of identifying risks before food reaches consumers.

   
   

2. Empower women at the centre of food safety; research increasingly highlights a salience-silence paradox in food safety: while food safety is universally recognized as important, the critical role women play in maintaining it is often overlooked. Women undertake much of the food production, harvesting, sorting, processing, marketing, and household food preparation. Providing women with training, access to finance, improved post-harvest technologies, and leadership opportunities within producer and market associations can significantly reduce contamination risks and improve food quality.

   
   

3. Invest in safe post-harvest technologies; Many contamination risks emerge after harvest. For example, drying maize directly on bare ground exposes it to moisture, dirt, and microorganisms, creating ideal conditions for aflatoxin development. Expanding access to affordable technologies such as solar dryers, hermetic storage bags, improved granaries, and cold-storage facilities can dramatically reduce losses and contamination while enhancing food quality and market competitiveness.

Food safety is a shared responsibility. Achieving meaningful transformation requires coordinated action from all stakeholders across the farm-to-fork continuum.

• Government institutions must harmonize and consistently enforce food safety standards across domestic and export markets. Priority actions include fast-tracking the National Food Safety Policy, establishing a centralized Agriculture and Food Safety Agency, and eliminating overlapping institutional mandates.

  
  

• Farmers should adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), improve hygiene during harvesting and handling, use proper drying and storage methods, observe pesticide withdrawal periods, and avoid the misuse of antibiotics in livestock production.

  
  

• Actors involved in food processing, transportation, and marketing must maintain sanitary handling conditions, preserve cold chains where necessary, and strengthen traceability systems. They should also reject contaminated or substandard raw materials and uphold strict hygiene standards throughout their operations.

• Consumers play a powerful role in driving demand for safer food. They can protect themselves by following the WHO's Five Keys to Safer Food: keeping food clean, separating raw and cooked foods, cooking thoroughly, storing food at safe temperatures, and using safe water and raw materials. Consumers should also demand accountability from food vendors and service providers.

As the world marks World Food Safety Day 2026, the message is clear: food safety is not merely a technical issue but a development imperative. Safe food saves lives, strengthens economies, improves nutrition, and enhances market opportunities.

Food safety should not be viewed as a cost of doing business but as an investment in public health, economic growth, and national development. Every actor from farmer to consumer has a role to play in ensuring that food is not only available but also safe, nutritious, and fit for consumption.