WHO Warns Unsafe Food Behind Millions of Illnesses and Deaths Worldwide

(Unsafe Food. Photo Credit; X.com)

New data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that unsafe food is responsible for an estimated 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths every year across the globe, shining a spotlight on the often underestimated impact of contaminated food on public health, human development, and vulnerable economies.

The findings, made public on Wednesday ahead of World Food Safety Day (WFSD) on June 7, paint a particularly alarming picture for children under five.

Despite representing just nine percent of the global population, this age group bears nearly a third of all foodborne disease cases, many of which involve severe diarrhoeal illnesses that can be fatal.

Children are also disproportionately harmed by chemical contaminants such as lead and methylmercury, which when consumed through food can damage developing brains and cause lasting neurological and developmental conditions.

Unsafe food is defined as any food that may cause illness, injury, or physical harm upon consumption, typically as a result of contamination by biological agents such as bacteria and parasites, chemical agents such as toxins and heavy metals, or physical hazards such as glass or metal fragments.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus described food safety as a daily reality affecting every meal and every family, noting that while unsafe food has long been a major public health concern, the full scale of its human and economic toll had previously been difficult to quantify. He said the new estimates change that.

The study found that foodborne bacteria, viruses, and parasites were responsible for the vast majority of illnesses, accounting for around 860 million cases in 2021 alone.

However, chemical contamination was found to be the leading driver of deaths linked to unsafe food, responsible for 73 percent of such fatalities in 2021.

Inorganic arsenic and lead were identified as the primary culprits, largely due to the way prolonged exposure elevates the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Together, the two substances were linked to more than one million deaths in a single year.

Food becomes contaminated through a range of pathways, including unsafe water, improper handling of products, and toxins entering the food chain through environmental pollution and industrial activity.

Once chemical contaminants such as arsenic, lead, or methylmercury enter the food supply, they are often extremely difficult or impossible to remove.

Geographically, Africa and Southeast Asia bear the heaviest burden, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses globally and 60 percent of deaths.

Children and people living in low-resource communities face the greatest risks, a reality that reflects deep-seated inequalities in food systems, healthcare access, and sanitation infrastructure.

Beyond the human cost, the WHO estimates that foodborne diseases led to approximately $310 billion in lost productivity in 2021 due to time away from work, with that figure rising to an estimated $647 billion when adjusted for differences in the cost of living across countries.

Yuki Minato, a WHO technical officer for food safety and senior author of the study published in The Lancet Global Health, described the report as both a wake-up call and a roadmap, warning that foodborne diseases are not only persisting but are being worsened by climate change which increases contamination risks and by antimicrobial resistance, which makes infections increasingly difficult to treat. She stressed that these threats cannot be tackled in isolation.

The WHO said the findings should guide countries in targeting interventions more effectively, strengthening disease surveillance, and fostering greater cooperation across health, agriculture, and environmental sectors, adding a stark warning that any delay in acting on these findings will continue to cost lives.