Foodborne disease

Foodborne disease takes a major toll on health. Thousands of millions of people fall ill and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Foodborne disease have implications both on health and development. Numerous outbreaks of foodborne disease have attracted media attention and raised consumer concern. However, the major problems are hidden among huge amounts of sporadic cases and smaller outbreaks. Most countries do not have good reporting systems, and a realistic estimation of the true burden of disease is difficult. WHO estimates 2,1 million deaths from diarrhoea worldwide, mainly caused by contaminated food and/or water. It is estimated that annually up to one third of the population, even in developed countries, suffer from foodborne disease. WHO initiatives to develop better methods to evaluate the foodborne disease burden, including strengthening foodborne disease surveillance, will serve to address this issue in the future.