Unsafe food continues to pose a major global health threat, causing hundreds of millions of illnesses and more than 1.5 million deaths each year, according to a new warning from the World Health Organization.

The WHO estimates that over 860 million people fall ill annually due to contaminated or improperly handled food, with children under the age of five bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. The findings were released ahead of World Food Safety Day on 7 June and highlight the widespread impact of foodborne disease across all regions.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said food safety is a daily concern affecting families worldwide. He noted that while unsafe food has long been recognised as a public health issue, global data now provides a clearer picture of its scale and economic cost.

The report estimates that foodborne illnesses led to around $310 billion in lost productivity in 2021 alone. Health officials say many of these cases could be prevented through improved sanitation, safer food handling practices such as pasteurisation, and better access to healthcare services for vulnerable populations.

Climate change is also emerging as a growing risk factor. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events and changing rainfall patterns are expected to increase the spread of foodborne pathogens and create new food safety challenges in the years ahead.

Children remain the most affected group. Those under five are three times more likely to suffer foodborne illness compared with older children and adults. In 2021, they accounted for 29 percent of the global health burden linked to unsafe food and 143,000 deaths.

Although they represent a small share of the global population, young children experience nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases, particularly diarrhoeal infections that can quickly become life-threatening. The WHO also warned that exposure to chemical contaminants in food can disrupt brain development and cause long-term neurological harm in children.

The burden of unsafe food is also unevenly distributed. Low-income countries in Africa and South-East Asia account for nearly three-quarters of global foodborne illnesses and about 60 percent of deaths, reflecting deep inequalities in food systems, infrastructure and healthcare access.

Foodborne diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food. In Europe, common examples include Campylobacter infections linked to undercooked poultry, Salmonella often associated with eggs and raw meat, STEC infections from undercooked foods and unpasteurised products, and Listeriosis, a rare but severe infection with high hospitalisation rates.

Health experts say that strengthening food safety systems and improving global cooperation will be essential to reducing preventable illness and death linked to contaminated food.

Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic have announced a partnership to develop a new artificial intelligence model tailored specifically for healthcare, combining advanced technology with clinical expertise to improve patient care and support medical professionals.

The initiative brings together Mayo Clinic’s extensive medical knowledge, anonymized patient data and experience in healthcare delivery with Microsoft’s artificial intelligence, cloud computing and engineering capabilities. The organizations said the model is intended to assist with analyzing complex clinical information, supporting earlier diagnoses and helping clinicians create more personalized treatment plans.

The collaboration marks a significant step in the growing use of AI in healthcare, an area that many experts believe has the potential to transform medical services by improving efficiency and expanding access to specialized knowledge.

Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, president and chief executive officer of Mayo Clinic, said the institution has long viewed artificial intelligence as a tool capable of advancing healthcare innovation. He noted that Mayo Clinic launched its data-focused Mayo Clinic Platform seven years ago to create a secure foundation for research and technological development using de-identified patient information.

Farrugia said the new partnership with Microsoft aims to extend Mayo Clinic’s expertise to a broader patient population while accelerating medical innovation.

Under the agreement, the AI model will be owned by Mayo Clinic. Microsoft plans to make the technology available through Azure Foundry application programming interfaces, allowing developers and healthcare organizations to connect the model to their own applications and services.

The organizations said the model is initially being deployed within Mayo Clinic’s clinical environment, where it will undergo testing and refinement through real-world use. Details regarding the scale of deployment, specific medical specialties involved and a timeline for broader availability have not yet been disclosed.

Healthcare has emerged as one of the most active sectors for AI development, though it presents unique challenges. Medical AI systems must process complex patient information, account for medical histories and meet strict standards for safety, privacy and reliability.

Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Microsoft AI, described the collaboration as an important step toward what he called “frontier medical intelligence.” He said Mayo Clinic’s clinical expertise and extensive health data resources make it an ideal partner for developing advanced healthcare-focused AI models.

The announcement comes as the use of AI in health-related decision-making continues to grow among consumers. Surveys have shown increasing numbers of people turning to AI-powered tools for medical information and guidance.

At the same time, regulators and healthcare professionals have emphasized the need for safeguards to address concerns about accuracy, bias, privacy and accountability. Under the European Union’s AI Act, medical AI systems are classified as high-risk technologies and must meet strict requirements, including risk management measures, quality data standards, transparency and human oversight.

The Microsoft-Mayo Clinic partnership reflects the growing effort to balance technological innovation with patient safety as AI becomes more deeply integrated into healthcare systems worldwide.