By Ayomide Otitoju
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemicals causes approximately 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year, with young children bearing the greatest burden.
In a report released on Thursday, the United Nations health agency said its analysis of data from 194 countries between 2000 and 2021 revealed that an estimated 886 million people fall ill annually from consuming unsafe food. Children under the age of five were found to be nearly three times more vulnerable to food-borne illnesses than other 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 incidence of food-related illnesses has declined since 2000, the report highlighted significant regional disparities. Africa and Southeast Asia account for nearly three-quarters of all food-borne disease cases and 60 per cent of related deaths globally.
According to the findings, biological hazards, including bacteria and viruses, were responsible for the vast majority of the estimated 860 million food-borne illness cases recorded in 2021. However, chemical contaminants accounted for a disproportionately high number of deaths, with arsenic and lead poisoning identified as the leading non-biological causes.
WHO Technical Officer for Food Safety, Yuki Minato, noted that climate change and antimicrobial resistance are compounding the 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 consequences, the study estimated that food-borne diseases cost the global economy about $647 billion in lost productivity in 2021, underscoring the significant economic impact of unsafe food systems worldwide.
