The World Health Organization has stated that food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemicals kills 1.5 million people worldwide every year, and that young children are most affected, as reported by NDTV and YLE.
After analysing data from 194 countries between 2000 and 2021, the WHO found that 886 million people a year fall ill with a disease related to eating unsafe food. The risk of illness is almost three times higher for children under the age of five and while overall foodborne illnesses have declined since 2000, massive regional disparities remain.
Africa and South-East Asia alone account for nearly 75% of all foodborne illnesses and 60% of deaths globally. In 2021, with an estimated 860 million cases, biological hazards such as bacteria and viruses caused the vast majority of foodborne illnesses.
Ingestion of chemicals accounted for a disproportionate share of deaths. These main non-biological causes of foodborne deaths were arsenic and lead poisoning.
"The data show that food-borne 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", as stated by WHO's technical officer for food safety, Yuki Minato.