The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its anticipated updated global burden of foodborne disease estimates, which suggest that 42 microbiological and chemical hazards caused approximately 866 million illnesses and 1.52 million deaths in 2021.
The study was conducted to support the development of new global burden of foodborne disease estimates, which are going to be released on June 4, ahead of World Food Safety Day.
Ahead of World Food Safety Day, FAO and WHO have introduced a Food Safety Roadmap Development Tool and an online learning course on Codex-aligned risk assessments, supporting competent authorities and other stakeholders seeking to utilize science and data to improve national food safety systems.
FAO, WHO, and the Codex Coordinating Committees for Africa and the Near East led a training with more than 350 participants from the Africa, Near East, and Eastern Mediterranean regions, focused on participation in Codex standard-setting work.
Improvements in national food safety infrastructure by the 17 countries included in the analysis would cost an estimated $492 million USD over ten years, but would avert 19 million cases of foodborne illness and 13,000 associated deaths, generating a value of $23 billion.
The 28th session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods made advances related to maximum residue limits (MRLs), extrapolation approaches, and risk management guidance, with several measures forwarded to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption.
A JEMRA meeting was convened to help inform discussions about potential updates to Codex Alimentarius guidance, reflecting how scientific advances could strengthen microbiological risk assessments for food safety.
WHO assessed the overall public health risk as “moderate,” citing the vulnerability of infants, uncertainty around the extent of contamination, and gaps in surveillance and traceability.
The information gathered will be used to support FAO/WHO scientific advice intended to inform future Codex Alimentarius discussions on frozen food handling guidance.
The theme, “From Burden to Solutions—Safe Food Everywhere,” stresses the role of evidence-based action, promoting the forthcoming updated WHO global foodborne disease estimates as a data source to inform targeted food safety and public health interventions.
