Food safety is often associated with what happens in a kitchen, a restaurant or a food processing facility, but threats to food safety can originate wherever people, animals and the environment interact.
From zoonotic pathogens that move between animals, humans and their shared environment to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), driven by antimicrobial use across sectors, to chemical contaminants, food safety is at the centre of the One Health approach.
On World Food Safety Day, we highlight those using the approach to address risks to human, animal and environmental health. WHO, together with partners, is committed to strengthening the One Health workforce, including professions such as veterinarians, epidemiologists and food safety officers. However, the approach is only as strong as the systems behind it and the people who implement it – across sectors, services and borders.
Food safety at the human–animal–environment interface
A 3-day workshop hosted by WHO/Europe and the World Organisation for Animal Health in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, brought together participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Serbia. Funded by the European Union under the EU4Health cross-border action, it focused on practical steps to plan and strengthen a multisectoral workforce for managing zoonotic diseases and related threats using a One Health approach.
“In today’s interconnected world, threats such as foodborne and zoonotic diseases do not respect sectoral or national borders. That is why the One Health approach is essential: it brings together public health, veterinary, food safety and environmental sectors to prevent, detect and respond to risks at the human–animal–environment interface,” says Peter Sousa Hoejskov, Technical Officer for Food Safety and Zoonotic Diseases at the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
“By strengthening a competent, coordinated workforce across these sectors, countries can move from ad hoc collaboration to sustained, practical action, thereby improving early warning, joint risk assessment and outbreak response, and ultimately protecting people’s health, livelihoods and food systems across the Western Balkans and beyond.”
From commitment to practice
Foodborne diseases are a multisectoral issue. An outbreak of Salmonella infection may involve animal husbandry practices, slaughter and processing hygiene, cold-chain integrity, safe food preparation practices, and require rapid identification by laboratories and public health surveillance in case of outbreaks. A rise in AMR can be linked to antimicrobial use in humans and animals, combined with environmental pathways such as wastewater and runoff. Chemical contamination can reflect upstream pollution from industrial or agricultural activities and gaps in environmental monitoring.
“The One Health approach requires all institutions to collaborate to prevent zoonotic diseases and respond rapidly to outbreaks,” explains Erson Dhimespira of the National Veterinary and Plant Protection Authority in Albania. “As a director, I have a responsibility to ensure the systematic vaccination of animals in line with national zoonotic disease programmes, maintain passive surveillance until diseases are eliminated and ensure that all staff are adequately trained and prepared to respond to zoonotic threats. This work cannot be done in isolation."
“Our role is to contribute to the development of the regulatory framework for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases,” adds Deonisii Cozlov, veterinarian at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of the Republic of Moldova. “Our work focuses on shaping policies and regulations for monitoring disease prevalence, establishing national control programmes and aligning national legislation with international standards. These efforts are essential to reducing contamination risks along the food chain and safeguarding public health.”
Regional collaboration
Across the WHO European Region, Member States are increasingly recognizing that tackling zoonotic diseases, AMR and foodborne threats demands multisectoral coordination.
Workforce development helps countries to answer core questions, such as which One Health functions need to be performed across the system; which occupations and competencies are required to deliver them; where gaps exist in institutions, skills, training opportunities and coordination; and how training and institutional capacity-building can be embedded and sustained over time, rather than delivered as one-off activities.
“I work closely with national-level colleagues from the veterinary and environmental sectors, as well as food safety authorities,” says Vladan Šaponjić, Senior Epidemiologist at Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut”. “Experience clearly shows that without collaboration, our efforts remain fragmented and have limited impact. That is why we are working to establish a functional system that enables daily intersectoral cooperation and joint activities, with the shared goal of protecting the health of humans, animals and the environment.”