2nd Edition (2025)

The World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 73.5 mandates the preparation of a new report by 2025 on the global burden of foodborne diseases with up-to-date estimates of global foodborne disease incidence, mortality and disease burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). To achieve this resolution, WHO will release a complete set of estimates in 2025, and the underlying databases will be regularly updated afterwards.

Methodology

The 2025 Edition of the WHO Foodborne Disease Estimates are being built primarily based on the advices by the WHO technical advisory group, Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group for 2021-2025. Building upon previous experiences and methods from 2010 Estimates (1st Edition) as presented by Devleesschauwer et al. (2015) and WHO (2015), it is intended to generate the burden estimates of foodborne diseases for up to 42 foodborne hazards (subject to change) including the same 31 hazards from the 2010 Estimates, as well as four heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and methylmercury). Where possible, time trends will be determined.

Data collection towards the updated estimates has been undertaken by WHO, in the form of:

• the global source attribution study commissioned to the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft); 
• commissioned systematic reviews of the scientific and grey literature, principally on the incidence of health states related to the hazards (see the overall method for data collection and the list of commissioned studies); 
• data provision by external agencies, namely the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH); and
• data provision by other WHO departments and agency, namely the WHO Division of Data, Analytics, and Delivery for Impact (DDI) and International Agency for Research on Cancer ( IARC).

Country consultation

For the first time, these estimates will be available at the national level. In accordance with WHO’s data publication policy, a formal Country Consultation is being conducted to allow for review and input on the draft national estimates before they are finalized. WHO has established a dedicated space within the WHO Country Portal for this technical area. Here, designated National Focal Points can access relevant technical materials and information about the process, including documents on methodology, decision-making processes, and country-specific data.

Estimating the economic burden of foodborne diseases

Together with World Bank, WHO will estimate the economic impact of foodborne diseases based on the public health burden expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The first global technical consultation will be held in early 2025 and the figures are planned to be finalized beyond 2026.