WHO 4 June 2026 News release
Extracts and comment from me below. Full text:
https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2026/06/04/default-calendar/...
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Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Despite being just 9% of the global population, young children suffer from nearly one third of all cases of foodborne diseases, particularly diarrhoeal diseases which can be deadly for this vulnerable age group. In addition, exposure to chemical hazards such as methylmercury and lead in food can harm the developing brain and cause lifelong neurological and developmental problems in children.
WHO estimates that unsafe food causes around 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths annually...
Exposure to biological hazards, including foodborne bacteria and viruses as well as parasitic infections, caused the majority of foodborne illnesses (approximately 860 million in 2021)...
“Food safety is not an abstract issue – it touches every meal, every family, every day. Unsafe food has always been a major public health concern, but until now we lacked the bigger picture of its staggering human and economic toll. These new estimates change that.” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “For the first time, countries have their own data to see where the burden is highest. With that knowledge, governments can prioritize the actions needed to protect people’s health.”...
World Food Safety Day
WHO is releasing these updated foodborne disease estimates ahead of World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2026...
WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases 2000–2021: Key findings from the 2026 edition:
https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2026/06/04/default-calendar/...
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COMMENT (NPW): How can food safety for young children be improved? I am having problems to access WHO publications on Iris. Can anyone suggest a reliable guide onthis topic?
Also, what do we know about the knowledge and practice of parents about food safety in different contexts? To what extent could the 1.5 million annual deaths be reduced if parents understood and practised food safety?
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org