The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that contaminated food is responsible for a far greater burden of disease and death worldwide than previously estimated, drawing attention to what it describes as a persistent and preventable global health crisis.
In a newly released report in The Lancet Global Health, the WHO estimates that more than 800 million people fall ill each year after consuming unsafe food. The findings show that food safety remains a major but under‑recognised driver of illness across all regions, affecting both developed and developing countries.
The Organisation recommends washing hands with soap and clean running water as one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent infection. Proper handwashing should take 20 to 40 seconds and cover all parts of the hands; rubbing palms together, cleaning the backs of both hands, scrubbing between fingers, cleaning under nails, and paying attention to thumbs and fingertips. After thorough washing, hands should be rinsed under clean running water and dried with a clean towel or air‑dried.
Handwashing is especially important at critical times: before preparing or eating food, after using the toilet, after handling raw meat, after coughing or sneezing, and after touching waste or animals. These are the moments when germs are most likely to spread.
When practised correctly and consistently, handwashing can prevent a wide range of diseases. It reduces the risk of foodborne illnesses such as cholera, typhoid fever, and infections caused by Salmonella and E. coli. It also helps prevent viral infections that cause diarrhoea, including norovirus and rotavirus, and lowers the spread of respiratory illnesses like the common cold, influenza, and Covid‑19. Other infections, such as hepatitis A and E, often transmitted through contaminated food and water, can also be avoided through good hand hygiene, along with certain parasitic infections.
WHO stresses that handwashing remains one of the most cost‑effective public health measures. In both households and healthcare settings, it plays a critical role in reducing disease spread, particularly where sanitation systems and food safety controls are weak.
The analysis draws on data from 194 countries between 2000 and 2021 and expands the range of known foodborne hazards from 31 in the 2015 assessment to 42. These include infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites, as well as chemical contaminants like heavy metals, including lead and inorganic arsenic, increasingly linked to long‑term diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular conditions.
Researchers say the updated estimates reflect both improved data collection and a broader understanding of foodborne risks. In 2021 alone, the report estimates 866 million people suffered foodborne illness, while 1.52 million deaths were linked to unsafe food consumption.
The report highlights that infectious pathogens account for the vast majority of illnesses, with around 860 million cases annually. However, chemical contamination contributes disproportionately to deaths, particularly through exposure to toxic metals such as arsenic and lead, which have long‑term health impacts even at low levels.
Children under five are among the most affected, accounting for nearly one‑third of all foodborne illnesses despite representing a much smaller share of the global population. WHO attributes this to higher vulnerability to dehydration and complications from diarrhoeal diseases, especially in regions with limited access to clean water and healthcare.
The burden of unsafe food is unevenly distributed. Nearly 75 per cent of illnesses and about 60 per cent of deaths occur in Africa and Southeast Asia, where weak food safety systems, limited infrastructure, and gaps in regulatory enforcement heighten exposure to contaminated food.
Beyond health, the economic cost is substantial. WHO estimates foodborne diseases result in about $647 billion (Sh84 trillion) in lost productivity annually, driven by premature deaths, long‑term disability, and repeated illness that strain households and healthcare systems.
The agency warns that several emerging factors are worsening the situation. Climate change is increasing contamination risks through rising temperatures and extreme weather, while antimicrobial resistance is making infections harder to treat. These pressures, the report says, compound existing weaknesses in food safety systems.
WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new findings reveal the “staggering” human and economic toll of unsafe food, adding that the problem has long been underestimated and requires urgent global attention.
To address the challenge, WHO is urging countries to adopt a “One Health” approach that integrates human, animal, and environmental health systems. It also calls for stronger surveillance, tighter regulation of food production chains, and greater international cooperation to prevent contamination from farm to table.
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