WHO food safety estimates put 2021 toll in hundreds of millions
New WHO-backed studies estimate contaminated food caused hundreds of millions of illnesses in 2021, with young children and poorer regions hit hardest.
By Priya Raghavan · Science Reporter
3 min read
Unsafe food caused hundreds of millions of illnesses in 2021, according to new World Health Organization estimates published in The Lancet Global Health. The findings give governments a broader evidence base for deciding where to spend on food safety, disease tracking and prevention.
The estimates cover the burden of foodborne disease from 2000 to 2021 and were released in mid-June with related webinars, according to the University of Waterloo. Waterloo public health researcher Shannon Majowicz contributed to the work, which updated part of the WHO’s global accounting of foodborne illness.
Majowicz and collaborators updated 22 of the WHO’s 42 estimates, according to the university. Their work focused on diarrheal and invasive enteric pathogens spread through contaminated food, including infections linked to severe illness, long-term complications and death.
One study led by Majowicz and colleagues estimated that 14 foodborne diarrheal pathogens caused 666 million illnesses and 265,000 deaths in 2021. The study found the highest burden on the African continent.
A second study estimated that foodborne transmission of eight invasive pathogens caused 24 million illnesses and 106,000 deaths in 2021. According to the study, most of that burden fell in Africa and Southeast Asia.
The WHO estimates also account for longer-term health effects associated with unsafe food, according to the University of Waterloo. Those effects include paralysis, cancer, kidney disease, septicemia and infections of the central nervous system.
Majowicz said the aim was to measure how many people become sick, how many develop severe consequences and how many die. The research found that, although the burden of diarrheal and invasive enteric pathogens has generally fallen over time, contaminated food remains a major cause of disease and death worldwide, according to the university.
Children carry a disproportionate burden
The two Lancet Global Health studies show that foodborne disease is unevenly distributed, according to the University of Waterloo. Children, people in lower-income regions and communities with limited access to clean water, sanitation and strong food systems face disproportionate risk.
Children younger than 5 accounted for 9% of the population studied but 30% of the disease burden, according to the findings cited by the university. Foodborne diseases are largely preventable, but the studies indicate that they continue to affect hundreds of millions of people each year.
The WHO estimates were designed to standardize methods and combine data across countries and regions, according to the University of Waterloo. Public health agencies and researchers can use the results to identify where risks are concentrated and where interventions may reduce disease.
Majowicz said the estimates can help governments justify investment in food safety systems, hygiene and infection prevention, surveillance and data collection. She said policymakers may struggle to rank food safety against other health priorities without data on illness, deaths and long-term effects.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.