Embargoed: Not to be broadcast, published, or posted before 7 June, 2026 PR No. 42

On the occasion of World Food Safety Day, Pakistan joins the international community in reaffirming its commitment to the shared and meaningful goal of ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and wholesome food, free from contamination and foodborne diseases.

Every individual involved in agriculture and food systems, including farmers, livestock breeders, fishers, researchers, and food industry stakeholders play a vital role in safeguarding food safety. Today, we also pay tribute to their invaluable contributions and dedicated services.

World Food Safety Day is observed under the auspices of the United Nations and jointly led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Day highlights the importance of preventing, detecting, and effectively managing foodborne risks and diseases.

This year's theme, "From Burden to Solutions: Safe Food Everywhere" underscores the need to translate scientific evidence into practical solutions that ensure safe food for all.

This year also marks the publication of a comprehensive report by the World Health Organization presenting updated global, regional, and national estimates of foodborne diseases, related deaths, and their impact on public health.

The report's findings are alarming. Each year, an estimated 866 million people worldwide fall ill due to contaminated food, while nearly 1.5 million lose their lives. In addition, unsafe food results in reduced productivity, rising healthcare expenditures, economic losses, social challenges, and declining tourism and trade.

Such credible and comprehensive analyses of the global burden of foodborne diseases help countries formulate evidence-based policies, allocate resources effectively, and prioritize interventions aimed at protecting public health.

Addressing foodborne illnesses and malnutrition caused by unsafe food is a shared responsibility that requires collective action.

Pakistan is blessed with fertile land, hardworking farmers, and abundant agricultural resources and potential. However, our agriculture sector faces a range of challenges, including limited research capacity, climate change, water scarcity, population growth, and evolving food consumption patterns. Government is pursuing integrated and forward-looking strategies to address these challenges.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research is undertaking comprehensive measures to strengthen food security, enhance agricultural productivity, and mitigate climate-related impacts through research and technology-driven interventions. These efforts include the provision of quality seeds, improved access to agricultural inputs, greater mechanization, strengthening agricultural value chains, enhancing storage facilities, and improving market systems.

Research analysis and world wide experience in preventing foodborne diseases can be effectively utilized at the governmental level, while citizens can significantly reduce food-related risks by adhering to basic principles of food hygiene, safe handling, proper storage, and cooking practices.

On this important occasion, I call upon the federal and provincial governments, farmers, universities, research institutions, the private sector, civil society, media organizations, development partners, and every citizen to play their part in building a safe, resilient, and nutritious food system.

Let us renew our commitment to valuing and protecting food and natural resources so that Pakistan may secure a safe, nutritious, sustainable, and self-reliant food future for generations to come.