The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a handbook to help countries measure their foodborne disease burden and identify gaps in food safety infrastructure and data collection.
Every year 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses are reported. In 2010, 420,000 people died due to such diseases as salmonella and E.coli infection, a third of them children under five years of age. Experts believe that this figure is increasing year after year, but it is difficult to get a clear picture of the real impact foodborne diseases are having around the world, according to the WHO.
The WHO says there are over 250 different food hazards that cause various health issues, such as acute or long-term illness or even death.
