World Health Organization puts the global toll of unsafe food at 866 million illnesses and 1.52 million deaths in a year

4 November 2026

The World Health Organization has published WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases 2000-2021, with a separate key findings volume.
The agency estimates that unsafe food caused about 866 million illnesses and about 1.52 million deaths in 2021.
A loss of 57.1 million disability-adjusted life years, the measure that adds years of life lost to years lived in poor health.
The estimates cover 42 biological and chemical hazards across the organisation's 194 member states, which allows the burden to be compared between regions for the first time on a common basis over two decades.
WHO reports substantial regional disparities, and finds that children under five carry a share of the burden far larger than their share of the population, mainly through diarrhoeal disease.
The report is the successor to WHO's earlier global estimates of foodborne disease and is meant to guide national food safety systems and surveillance.