As the world marks World Food Safety Day today under the theme, "From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere," new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that contaminated food causes around 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths globally each year, underscoring the enormous health burden posed by unsafe food.
The findings highlight persistent inequalities in food safety, with Africa and South-East Asia bearing the greatest burden.
According to WHO, the two regions account for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses and 60% of global deaths linked to contaminated food.
Children under the age of five are among those most affected. Although they make up just 9% of the world's population, they suffer nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases. WHO said young children face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food compared with older children and adults.
The agency estimated that biological hazards, including bacteria, viruses and parasites, caused approximately 860 million cases of foodborne illness in 2021. However, chemical contamination was responsible for a disproportionate number of deaths.
In 2021, chemical hazards accounted for 73% of deaths linked to contaminated food. Most of these deaths were associated with exposure to inorganic arsenic and lead, substances that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers.
Exposure to methylmercury was also identified as a major concern because of its potential to harm children's developing brains, causing lifelong neurological and developmental problems.
Beyond the health consequences, WHO estimated that foodborne diseases resulted in around US$310(Sh40.14 trillion) billion in lost productivity globally in 2021 due to time away from work caused by illness. When adjusted for cost-of-living differences between countries, the economic impact rose to US$647 billion(Sh83.77 trillion).
"Food safety is not an abstract issue – it touches every meal, every family, every day. Unsafe food has always been a major public health concern, but until now we lacked the bigger picture of its staggering human and economic toll. These new estimates change that," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"For the first time, countries have their own data to see where the burden is highest. With that knowledge, governments can prioritize the actions needed to protect people's health," he added.
Yuki Minato, WHO technical officer for food safety and senior author of the study published in The Lancet Global Health, described the report as "a wake-up call – but also a roadmap."
"The data show that foodborne 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," she said.
WHO is urging governments to strengthen food safety systems through improved water, sanitation and hygiene, safer food processing practices such as pasteurisation, stricter environmental controls and stronger surveillance systems.
"A One Health approach – integrating human, animal, plant, and environmental health – is essential," Ms Minato said. "Countries must act urgently, using these estimates to target interventions, invest in surveillance, and break down the silos between health, agriculture and environment sectors. Delay costs lives."