Unsafe food kills 1.5 million annually, WHO warns

Children aged less than five years face nearly three times the risk of illness from unsafe food compared to older children and adults, according to new estimates released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which reveal the staggering human and economic toll of foodborne diseases worldwide.

The report showed that although children under five account for just nine per cent of the global population, they suffer almost one-third of all foodborne disease cases, particularly diarrhoeal illnesses, which can be fatal for this vulnerable age group.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described food safety as a major but often overlooked public health challenge.

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“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,” he said.

WHO estimated that contaminated food causes about 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths annually, with Africa and South-East Asia bearing the greatest burden.

According to the agency, many of these illnesses and deaths could be prevented through improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, safer food handling practices, and better access to healthcare.

The report also highlighted the growing threat of chemical contamination in food, warning that exposure to substances such as lead, methylmercury and inorganic arsenic can cause severe health problems, including heart disease, cancer, intellectual disability and lifelong neurological damage in children.

According to the estimates, biological hazards such as bacteria, viruses and parasites accounted for most foodborne illnesses in 2021, causing about 860 million cases. However, chemical hazards were responsible for a disproportionate number of deaths, accounting for 73 per cent of fatalities linked to contaminated food.

Inorganic arsenic and lead alone were associated with more than one million deaths in a single year. WHO noted that these chemicals often enter the food chain through environmental pollution and industrial activities and are difficult to remove once contamination occurs.

According to the WHO, foodborne diseases also impose a heavy economic burden, and illness linked to unsafe food resulted in about $310 billion in lost productivity globally in 2021. When adjusted for differences in purchasing power across countries, the economic loss rises to approximately $647 billion.

The new analysis assessed 42 major foodborne hazards, including bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemicals, across 194 countries between 2000 and 2021. It is the most comprehensive global assessment of foodborne disease burden to date.

The findings further revealed deep inequalities in food safety. Children and people living in low-resource communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, experience the highest burden of disease. Africa and South-East Asia together account for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses and 60 per cent of global deaths.

WHO technical officer for food safety and senior author of the study, Yuki Minato, warned that climate change and antimicrobial resistance are worsening food safety risks.

“This report is a wake-up call, but also a roadmap. Foodborne diseases remain persistent and are being intensified by climate change, which increases contamination risks, and antimicrobial resistance, which makes infections harder to treat,” Minato said.

He called for a “One Health” approach that integrates human, animal, plant and environmental health, urging governments to invest in surveillance, strengthen food safety systems and improve collaboration across sectors.

The report was released ahead of World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2026, whose theme is “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere.”