Innovative public-private approach for the benefit of public health
Thanks to the partnership between PAHO and Airbnb, information on food safety is available to Airbnb hosts and guests and more broadly to the general public
Working toward adding more resources to provide greater safety to its hosts and guests, Airbnb partnered with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO) to offer useful and scientifically sound information on food safety and how to prevent food-borne illnesses.
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home and has since grown to 4 million hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer experiences that make it possible for guests to experience the world. Airbnb Experiences are hosted by local hosts and include things like food tours and classes, wellness experiences, outdoor activities and more.
As food supply chains become increasingly more complex, a food safety incident can have serious effects on public health and tourism. Airbnb approached PAHO in 2019 looking to forge a collaboration that would allow the company to provide reliable information about food safety to hosts and guests.
Innovation to disseminate the 5 keys to safe food
This alliance between Airbnb and
In addition, the partnership enabled the development of educational information about food safety, food allergies and dietary restrictions now available to the Airbnb community.
With the financial support of this partner, PAHO developed a series of informative materials on how to prevent food diseases and how to ensure food safety for consumption. PAHO also translated these materials into Spanish and Portuguese and made them available through the PAHO virtual training for food handlers to promote a better understanding of the subject and for preventing foodborne diseases.
The materials have been distributed to Airbnb hosts and are available to the general public through PAHO web pages and its Virtual Campus of Public Health. In its innovation and commitment to safety, Airbnb adopted PAHO guidelines on food safety and for handling food for consumption and for cooking and presented them to its Experience Hosts, as an indispensable requirement for a successful experience, making it possible to improve the health of all.