Unsafe food is silently claiming 1.5 million lives yearly, with children under five bearing the heaviest burden, according to the WHO’s most comprehensive assessment yet.
Unsafe food causes approximately 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths each year worldwide, with children under five years old suffering a disproportionately severe burden, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its updated estimates covering 2000–2021.
Despite making up just 9 per cent of the global population, young children account for nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases. They face almost three times the risk of illness compared to older children and adults, particularly from deadly diarrhoeal diseases. Chemical hazards such as lead and methylmercury further threaten their development, potentially causing lifelong neurological and intellectual impairments.
A Persistent Global Threat
The new WHO analysis, published in The Lancet Global Health, significantly broadens the scope by examining 42 major foodborne hazards – including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemicals – across 194 countries. While the overall burden of foodborne diseases has declined since 2000, deep regional inequalities remain. Africa and South-East Asia together shoulder nearly three-quarters of all illnesses and 60 per cent of global deaths.
Biological hazards, such as foodborne bacteria, viruses, and parasites, drove the vast majority of the estimated 860 million illnesses recorded in 2021. However, chemical contaminants proved far deadlier in terms of mortality. In 2021, chemical hazards were responsible for a striking 73 per cent of all foodborne deaths. Inorganic arsenic alone accounted for 42 per cent and lead for 31 per cent, primarily by increasing risks of heart disease and various cancers.
“Food safety is not an abstract issue – it touches every meal, every family, every day,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “These new estimates change that. For the first time, countries have their own data to see where the burden is highest and can prioritize the actions needed to protect people’s health.”
Hidden Dangers in the Food Chain
Many chemical hazards enter the food supply through both natural sources and human activities. Once contaminants like inorganic arsenic, lead, and methylmercury enter the food chain, they are often difficult or impossible to remove. The updated estimates now quantify, for the first time, the full extent of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and intellectual disabilities linked to dietary exposure to these metals.
WHO is calling on governments to act at the source by improving agricultural practices, enforcing stricter industrial controls, and strengthening environmental regulations to prevent contamination.
The report also highlights emerging and evolving threats. Climate change is increasing contamination risks, while antimicrobial resistance is making infections harder to treat. Globalization and changing diets further complicate food safety across supply chains.
Massive Economic Cost
Beyond the human suffering, unsafe food carries a heavy economic price tag. In 2021 alone, foodborne diseases led to about US$310 billion in lost productivity due to time away from work. When adjusted for cost-of-living differences between countries, this figure rises sharply to US$647 billion.
Many of these illnesses and deaths are preventable through basic interventions: better access to clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene (WASH), widespread pasteurization, and stronger healthcare support for vulnerable populations.
A Crisis of Equity
Children and people in low-resource communities, especially in low- and middle-income countries, suffer the greatest consequences. The African and South-East Asian regions continue to experience the highest burdens, reflecting deep inequalities in food systems, infrastructure, and regulatory capacity.
Yuki Minato, WHO technical officer for food safety and senior author of the Lancet paper, described the report as both a wake-up call and a roadmap. “We cannot tackle these threats alone,” she said. “A One Health approach – integrating human, animal, plant, and environmental health – is essential. Countries must use these estimates to target interventions, invest in surveillance, and break down silos between sectors.”
Expanded Evidence Base
The 2026 edition of the WHO estimates marks a major advancement. It includes new hazards such as metals, rotavirus, and Trypanosoma cruzi (the parasite causing Chagas disease). However, significant data gaps remain. Important hazards like antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, pesticide residues, and PFAS (“forever chemicals”) could not be fully assessed due to insufficient data. Other outcomes, such as growth impairment from aflatoxins or stillbirths linked to listeriosis, were also excluded.
WHO has made the data accessible through an interactive online dashboard and updated Global Health Observatory pages, allowing countries to examine national and regional trends from 2000 to 2021. These tools are intended to support evidence-based policymaking, risk ranking, and resource allocation.
The findings are being released just days before World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2026. This year’s theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere,” aligns closely with the new data, which provides countries with a strong evidence base to drive targeted action.
Image: Wikimedia
