Unsafe food makes 100 million people ill each year in the Region
7 June 2024, Cairo, Egypt – “Prepare for the unexpected” is the theme of the sixth World Food Safety Day, marked today by the United Nations. Food businesses, governments and consumers can all help prevent food contamination and foodborne illnesses.
Food must be protected at every stage from production to consumption. WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the international day to raise awareness of this issue globally.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region bears a substantial burden of foodborne diseases. According to WHO estimates from 2015, 100 million people living in the Region experience foodborne illnesses each year – 32 million of those cases are children aged under 5 years.
Foodborne diarrhoeal diseases caused by pathogens make up 70% of the foodborne disease burden in the Region. About 37 000 people a year in the Region die from eating unsafe food, mainly due to foodborne diarrhoeal diseases, typhoid fever, hepatitis A and brucellosis. Food safety measures are vital to mitigate the impact of these diseases on health and well-being in the Region and globally.
WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases
Besides foodborne pathogens, natural toxins and synthetic chemicals may also cause some foodborne diseases. A large number of chemical contaminants in food can cause serious noncommunicable diseases, including cancer; organ failure; and reproductive and developmental impairments.
The Region grapples with public health challenges stemming from climate change-related events such as heatwaves, drought, flooding, and increased transmission of zoonotic diseases. Humanitarian crises, other emergencies and political