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New data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that unsafe food causes 866 million illnesses and claims 1.5 million lives worldwide every year.
The data, released on Wednesday ahead of World Food Safety Day (WFSD), observed annually on June 7, shows that children under the age of five are particularly vulnerable.
According to the WHO, unsafe food refers to food contaminated by biological agents such as bacteria and parasites, chemical substances including toxins and heavy metals, or physical objects like glass and metal fragments. These hazards can cause illnesses ranging from mild diarrhoea to severe, life-threatening conditions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said that unsafe food remains a major public health challenge.
“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.
“These new estimates change that.”
The study found that foodborne bacteria, viruses, and parasites were responsible for most illnesses, causing about 860 million cases in 2021 alone. However, chemical contamination accounted for the majority of deaths linked to unsafe food.
According to the report, chemical hazards were responsible for 73 per cent of foodborne deaths in 2021. Inorganic arsenic and lead emerged as the leading contributors, largely because long-term exposure increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Together, the two substances were linked to more than one million deaths in a single year.
Food can become contaminated through unsafe water, poor handling practices, or toxins entering the food chain through environmental pollution and industrial activities. Once chemicals such as arsenic, lead, or methylmercury enter the food supply, they are often difficult or impossible to remove.
The WHO also revealed that Africa and Southeast Asia account for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses and 60 per cent of global deaths from contaminated food.
Children and people living in low-resource communities face the highest risks, reflecting persistent inequalities in food systems, healthcare access, and sanitation.
“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, which increases contamination risks, and by antimicrobial resistance, which makes infections harder to treat. We cannot tackle these threats alone.”
