The WHO has released a new report containing predictions about unsafe foods.
“It is estimated that unsafe food causes 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths each year. Most of these can be prevented through measures such as improving water, sanitation and hygiene, food safety practices such as pasteurization, and access to health care for vulnerable populations,” the report said. Statements were recorded.
The report noted that the overall burden of foodborne illnesses has declined since around 2000, but highlighted that regional inequalities persist and the greatest burden is in Africa and Southeast Asia.
The report said young children were the largest risk group and that the risk of contracting illnesses caused by unsafe food was about three times higher among children under 5 than other age groups.
“Although young children make up only 9 percent of the world's population, they suffer from nearly a third of foodborne illnesses, particularly diarrheal diseases, which can be fatal for this vulnerable age group,” the report said. evaluation was carried out.
The report says that exposure to chemical hazards such as methylmercury and lead in food can damage the developing brain, stressing that this situation can lead to lifelong neurological and developmental problems in children.
The report states that exposure to biological hazards, including food-borne bacteria and viruses and parasitic infections, causes food-borne illnesses (approximately 860 million in 2021) and that exposure to chemicals disproportionately causes deaths.
“In 2021, 73 percent of deaths from contaminated food were due to chemical hazards.” The report highlighted that most of these chemical-related deaths were linked to inorganic arsenic (42 percent) and lead (31 percent), primarily because these exposures increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.
“Unsafe food has always been a major public health problem.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose views are included in the report, said food safety is not an abstract issue and affects every meal and family.
“Unsafe food has always been a major public health problem, but until now we have failed to see the full picture of the enormous human and economic harm it causes. These new estimates change that,” Ghebreyesus said. gave his assessment.
Ghebreyesus said that for the first time countries have data that can shed light on the areas where the burden of foodborne illnesses is highest, and said this information will help governments determine priority actions to protect human health.
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