Some 600 million people fall ill each year from eating contaminated food, and 420,000 die, including 125,000 children, the World Health Organization said in a report released Thursday.
"The data we are publishing is only a very conservative estimate, we are sure that the real figure is bigger," Kazuaki Miyagishima, director of WHO's Department of Food Safety, told reporters, according to Reuters.
The report, "WHO Estimates of the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases," is the first-ever estimate of the impact of foodborne diseases.
The United Nations health agency looked at 31 different foodborne diseases, which are usually caused by bacteria such as salmonella, viruses, parasites, toxins and chemicals, reported AFP.
WHO found that nearly one in 10 people get sick each year from tainted food, and children under the age of five account for 40 percent of the 600 million cases worldwide each year.
These contaminants usually only cause temporary symptoms, such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, however, they can also cause longer-term illnesses including cancer, kidney or liver failure, brain disorders, epilepsy and arthritis, WHO said.
Over 550 million people get sick and 230,000 die from diarrhea-causing diseases each year, such as the norovirus, campylobacter, salmonella and E. coli, which are transmitted by eating raw or undercooked meat, eggs, produce or dairy products.
The highest number of cases and deaths occur in Africa and Southeast Asia, but the United States and Europe also have deadly outbreaks.
"Our results show that the biggest burden is in Africa and in southeast Asia, and there the death rates are highest, including those of children under five years of age," said University of Florida expert Arie Hendrik Havelaar, who chaired the WHO group of 150 scientists that conducted the report.
Most of the deaths in Africa were caused by salmonella; a pork tapeworm called taenia colium that can cause cysts to develop in the brain and lead to epilepsy; cyanide in cassava; and aflatoxin, a chemical found in molds that grow on improperly stored grains and corn, according to Reuters.
Aflatoxin, which can cause liver cancer, is the leading cause of food poisoning in the Western Pacific. The region also has very high death rates from parasites like the Chinese liver fluke, which can be contracted through raw and incorrectly cooked or processed fish, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The U.S., Canada and South America had the second-lowest rate of food poisoning in the world, but 77 million people still get sick each year and 9,000 die, including 2,000 children, mainly from the norovirus, campylobacter, E. coli and salmonella.
