Research by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that poor-quality food kills more than 1.5 million people annually and causes more than 200 diseases.
In its first large-scale assessment of the impact of food contamination in more than a decade, the WHO found that unsafe food causes an estimated 885 million illnesses each year, costing the global economy an estimated $647 billion (£481.3 billion) in lost productivity.
According to a report published Wednesday in The Lancet Global Health journal, Although bacteria, viruses, and parasites are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, the lion's share—about 73 percent—of fatalities are actually caused by toxic heavy metals.
«Food safety is not an abstract issue: it affects every meal, every family, every day,» said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
«"Poor food quality has always been a serious public health problem, but until now we haven't had a full understanding of its enormous human and economic costs. These new estimates change that.".
The study uses data from 2000 to 2021.
This is the first publication by WHO of the results of a study on food contamination since 2010, when the organization estimated that food poisoning was killing about half a million people annually.
However, this report only looked at exposure to bacteria, viruses and parasites.
While food safety standards have generally improved since the turn of the century, the impact of metal contamination, particularly arsenic and lead, has previously been overlooked.
Both metals occur naturally in soil but are also released into the environment through industrial processes such as coal burning and metal smelting.
Over time, exposure can disrupt cellular function and damage organs, increasing the risk of skin, lung, liver, bladder and other tissue cancers, permanent brain damage, heart disease and kidney failure.
Industrial processes such as metal smelting can release heavy metals into the environment. — Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Corbis via Getty Images
Rice is particularly vulnerable to heavy metal contamination because it is grown in flooded fields and easily absorbs contaminated water.
Southeast Asia and Africa, where regulations on heavy metals in agriculture are far less stringent, are the hardest-hit regions. It is estimated that approximately 1 billion people are regularly exposed to heavy metals through their diet.
Bacteria also remain a major cause of food poisoning and death.
In 2021, about 250,000 people died after eating food contaminated with harmful bacteria, mostly from diarrhea.
Some of the most common bacterial pathogens include Campylobacter и E. coli , which are often found in undercooked poultry, raw milk, and unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Listeria bacteria , which thrive primarily in unpasteurized dairy products—products whose popularity has skyrocketed in recent years among health-conscious consumers—pose a particular risk to pregnant women and newborns.
While infection is usually mild in healthy adults, in infants the bacteria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and severe illness.
In 2021 Listeria caused 5,280 deaths, the vast majority of which were newborns.
Parasites are another leading cause of food poisoning-related deaths, causing more than 100,000 deaths each year.
These organisms, which feed, grow, and reproduce in the human body and can deprive it of vital nutrients, commonly contaminate vegetables fertilized with animal or human feces.
They can also be found in pork and beef, especially if the meat is undercooked or stored at too high a temperature.
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