The World Health Organization warns of the increasing risks associated with contaminated food around the world, stressing that it represents one of the main causes of death and disease, especially among young children.
The organization said on Thursday that food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or harmful chemicals causes the death of about 1.5 million people annually, while hundreds of millions are infected with diseases linked to eating unsafe food.
According to an analysis that included data from 194 countries during the period between 2000 and 2021, the United Nations health agency indicated that about 886 million people are infected with food-borne diseases annually, and that children under the age of five are approximately three times more susceptible to infection compared to other groups.
The report indicated that Africa and Southeast Asia bear the greatest burden of these diseases, as they together represent nearly three-quarters of global infections and about 60% of deaths.
In 2021 alone, about 860 million cases of illness associated with food poisoning were recorded, with biological contaminants such as bacteria and viruses being the most common cause.
Although the chemicals caused fewer injuries, they were responsible for a large proportion of deaths, especially arsenic and lead poisoning.
Yuki Minato, technical officer for food safety at the organization, warned that these diseases are still continuing, and are even exacerbated by climate change, which increases the chances of pollution, in addition to antibiotic resistance, which complicates the treatment of infections.
The study also indicates that foodborne diseases caused global economic losses estimated at $647 billion in 2021 as a result of lost productivity.
