The World Health Organization (WHO) cites this staggering statistic:
- An estimated 600 million — almost one in 10 people around the world — fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years.
- $110 billion USD is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries.
- Children under five carry 40 percent of the foodborne disease burden, with 125,000 deaths every year.
- Foodborne diseases impede socioeconomic development by straining health care systems and harming national economies, tourism, and trade.
Listeria bacteria are found widely in the environment in soil, including in decaying vegetation and water, and may be part of the fecal flora of many mammals, including healthy human adults.
The above statistics do not account for the link between poor diets and death. A study by The Lancet found that poor diets — defined as those short on fresh vegetables, seeds, and nuts but heavy in sugar, salt, and trans fats — were linked to one in five deaths annually. In 2017, 11 million deaths could have been avoided, according to the study. Around 10 million deaths resulted from cardiovascular disease followed by cancer, with 913,000 deaths, and Type 2 diabetes, which claimed 339,000 lives.
Food safety from both acute and chronic causes is a major global challenge.