Last Friday, the UN held it’s first World Food Safety Day and some staggering figures were released:
An estimated 600 million — almost 1 in 10 people in the world — fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years.
Children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths every year.
Diarrheal diseases are the most common illnesses resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, causing 550 million people to fall ill and 230,000 deaths every year.
Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases — ranging from diarrhea to cancers.
Contaminated food not only affects human health, it taints food security, economic prosperity, agriculture vitality, market access, tourism and sustainable development.
Although everyone is susceptible, infants, young children, pregnant women, older persons and individuals with a weakened immune system (such as HIV infection, liver disease or who are on cancer treatment) are particularly vulnerable.
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