The Federal Government has raised fresh alarms over the escalating food safety crisis across the nation, disclosing that contaminated food causes nearly 50 million cases of illnesses and claims more than 53,000 lives annually. The government also revealed that children under the age of five bear the brunt of this health challenge, accounting for the vast majority of the country's disease burden.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made this disclosure on Monday in Abuja during a ministerial press briefing held to mark the 2026 World Food Safety Day, which had the theme From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere. Salako explained that updated statistical estimates from the World Health Organization indicate that contaminated food items continue to inflict a severe human and economic toll on Nigeria. He noted that the staggering combination of widespread foodborne illnesses and premature deaths translates to an estimated loss of 4.26 million years of healthy life annually due to sickness, disability, and early mortality.

The minister expressed deep concern over how these preventable health hazards disproportionately harm the younger population. Salako stated, "Most of this burden falls heavily on children under five, who account for more than 80 per cent of all foodborne disease burden in Nigeria." He added that apart from causing immediate sickness and mortality, the consumption of contaminated meals severely impairs the long-term cognitive development, physical growth, and future economic productivity of young citizens.

According to the federal health ministry, diarrheal diseases triggered by foodborne pathogens remain the dominant driver of the food safety crisis in the country. Data indicates that over 40 million diarrheal cases recorded annually are linked directly to harmful pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Shigella, and Rotavirus. Furthermore, health authorities highlighted an increasing threat from chemical contamination, pointing specifically to widespread lead exposure associated with contaminated grains, spices, and domestic water sources.

Despite the deep challenges, Salako maintained that Nigeria has recorded measurable progress in upgrading its regulatory and surveillance frameworks. He referenced the 2023 Joint External Evaluation which showed significant improvements in domestic food safety capacity, as well as the 2025 State Party Annual Report scores which outperformed the baseline targets set by the World Health Organization for low and middle income countries. The minister affirmed that Nigeria currently ranks among the prominent countries in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the detection, reporting, and prompt response to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

The government has also moved to strengthen inter-agency synergy through the National Food Safety Management Committee while deploying the National Integrated Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Surveillance and Response to optimize outbreak investigations, laboratory testing, prompt food recalls, and risk communication. Additionally, the administration is introducing interventions to curb unhealthy dietary habits linked to non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular illnesses, and obesity. To this end, the country has formulated National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction, while the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has finalized draft regulations aimed at placing strict limits on sodium levels within processed foods.

The health ministry is also actively enforcing rules to phase out industrial trans fats in accordance with global health recommendations while tightening policies on front of pack food labeling and sugar sweetened beverages to guide citizens toward healthier dietary choices. In a goodwill message delivered on behalf of the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, by the Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Eva Edwards, the regulatory body restated its unwavering commitment to minimizing foodborne illnesses through science based controls and stricter monitoring systems. NAFDAC characterized food safety as an indispensable pillar for safeguarding public health, unlocking economic growth, and driving overall national development.

Corroborating this stance, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ms. Kachollom Daju, emphasized that food safety and qualitative nutrition must be tackled collectively, warning that a dangerous mix of microbial contamination and poor dietary patterns is creating a severe public health emergency. Daju advocated for a unified front encompassing government institutions, regulatory bodies, academia, industrial players, and civil society groups to effectively mitigate the risks.

Supporting organizations, including Resolve to Save Lives, pledged to sustain their technical assistance for the nutritional and safety policies of the government, including trans fat elimination, sodium reduction, and consumer awareness campaigns. Meanwhile, representatives from the Federal Ministry of Environment identified inadequate public sanitation, contaminated water networks, environmental pollution, climate change, poor waste management systems, and unhygienic agricultural methods as core factors exacerbating food contamination, calling for heightened environmental surveillance.

The World Health Organization has urged the federal authorities to capitalize on current country specific evidence to accelerate the campaign against foodborne infections, describing access to safe food as a fundamental human right. Similarly, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria emphasized that enforcing strict quality baselines remains crucial for protecting consumers and building public trust in the local agricultural value chain.

Concluding his address, Salako challenged media organizations to scale up public enlightenment campaigns on proper food hygiene and healthy nutrition. Salako emphasized, "Food safety is everyone’s business. It saves lives, strengthens our economy and protects our children," before adding that "The numbers show clearly that food safety is not optional; it is a national imperative."