By Bunmi Yekini
Children under the age of five face nearly three times the risk of illness from unsafe food compared with older children and adults, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, warning that contaminated food continues to exact a heavy human and economic toll worldwide.
New estimates released by the United Nations health agency show that unsafe food causes about 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths each year, with young children bearing a disproportionate share of the burden.
Although children under five account for only 9% of the world’s population, they suffer nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases, particularly diarrhoeal illnesses that can be fatal in vulnerable populations, the WHO said.
The agency also warned that exposure to toxic substances in food, including lead and methylmercury, can damage children’s developing brains and lead to lifelong neurological and developmental disorders.
“Food safety is not an abstract issue, it touches every meal, every family, every day,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
“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.”
The estimates, covering 194 countries between 2000 and 2021, represent WHO’s most comprehensive assessment of foodborne diseases to date. The analysis examined 42 major foodborne hazards, including bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemical contaminants.
According to the report, biological hazards such as foodborne bacteria and viruses accounted for the vast majority of illnesses, causing approximately 860 million cases in 2021. However, chemical contaminants were responsible for a disproportionate share of fatalities, accounting for 73% of deaths linked to unsafe food.
Inorganic arsenic and lead were identified as the leading chemical killers, contributing to 42% and 31% of chemical-related deaths respectively. WHO said these substances increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancers and were linked to more than one million deaths in a single year.
The economic consequences are also substantial. Foodborne diseases resulted in an estimated $310 billion in lost productivity globally in 2021 due to illness-related absences from work. When adjusted for differences in purchasing power across countries, the figure rose to $647 billion.
Despite a decline in the overall burden of foodborne diseases since 2000, WHO said major regional disparities remain. Africa and South-East Asia together accounted for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses and about 60% of global deaths.
The report highlighted growing concerns over the impact of climate change and antimicrobial resistance on food safety. Rising temperatures and changing environmental conditions can increase contamination risks, while drug-resistant infections are becoming harder to treat.
“This report is a wake-up call, but also a roadmap,” said Yuki Minato, a WHO technical officer for food safety and senior author of the study published in The Lancet Global Health.
“The data show that foodborne diseases are not only persistent but are being made worse by climate change and antimicrobial resistance. A One Health approach integrating human, animal, plant and environmental health is essential.”
WHO urged governments to strengthen food safety systems, improve surveillance, invest in safer agricultural practices and tighten environmental regulations to prevent contamination before it enters the food chain.
The agency released the findings ahead of World Food Safety Day on June 7, whose 2026 theme is “From burden to solutions, safe food everywhere.”
The estimates are intended to help governments identify their most significant food safety threats, prioritize interventions and direct resources to populations most at risk.
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