Africa: First-Ever World Food Safety Day Elevates Attention to Dangerous Foodborne Diseases in Africa

An estimated 91 million people in Africa in a year consume contaminated food that renders them ill, and around 137,000 people die. Food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances cause diseases ranging from acute diarrhoea to lifelong conditions, including some cancers.

The risk of foodborne diseases is most severe in low- and- middle income countries, linked to preparing food with unsafe water; poor hygiene and inadequate conditions in food production and storage; lower levels of literacy and education; and insufficient food safety legislation or implementation of such legislation. It is estimated that in 2015, 159 million people still collected drinking water directly from surface water sources, 58% of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.

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