Daijiworld Media Network – Geneva
Geneva, Jun 4: Contaminated food causes the deaths of nearly 1.5 million people globally every year, with young children facing the greatest risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned in a new report.
Based on an analysis of data from 194 countries between 2000 and 2021, the UN health agency found that around 886 million people suffer from illnesses linked to unsafe food annually. Children under the age of five are nearly three times more likely to be affected than older age groups.
"Food safety is not an abstract issue — it touches every meal, every family, every day," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
While the overall burden of food-borne illnesses has declined since 2000, the report highlights stark regional disparities. Africa and Southeast Asia together account for nearly three-fourths of all food-related illnesses and 60 per cent of global deaths associated with unsafe food.
The study found that biological hazards such as bacteria, viruses and parasites were responsible for the vast majority of cases, causing around 860 million illnesses in 2021 alone.
However, chemical contamination accounted for a disproportionately high number of deaths. Exposure to toxic substances such as arsenic and lead emerged as the leading non-biological causes of food-related fatalities.
According to Yuki Minato, WHO technical officer for food safety, climate change and antimicrobial resistance are worsening the global food safety challenge.
"The data show that food-borne diseases are not only persistent but are being made worse by climate change, which increases contamination risks, and by antimicrobial resistance, which makes infections harder to treat," Minato said.
Beyond the health impact, the report estimates that food-borne diseases caused global economic losses of approximately $647 billion in 2021 due to reduced productivity and associated costs.
The WHO urged governments, food producers and consumers to strengthen food safety measures to reduce preventable illnesses and deaths worldwide.