Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a ministerial press briefing marking the 2026 World Food Safety Day, themed “From Burden to Solutions – Reliable Food Everywhere.”
According to Salako, updated estimates from the World Health Institution (WHO) demonstrate that unsafe food continues to correct a heavy human being and economic toll on the country.
He said Nigeria records complete to 50 million cases of foodborne illnesses every year, whilst additional than 53,000 humans die from diseases linked to contaminated food.
The minister noted that the integrated influence of these illnesses and deaths results in concerning 4.26 million years of healthy life lost annually through means of sickness, disability and premature death.
“Most of this burden falls heavily on children under five, who account for greater than 80 per cent of all foodborne disease burden in Nigeria,” he said.
Salako explained that beyond illness and mortality, unsafe food affects children’s cognitive development, passage growth and upcoming productivity.
He identified diarrhoeal diseases caused by foodborne pathogens as the largest donor to Nigeria’s food safety burden, noting that additional than 40 million diarrhoeal illnesses each year are linked to pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Shigella and Rotavirus.
The minister moreover highlighted growing concerns over chemical contamination, particularly manage exposure linked to contaminated grains, spices and water sources.
He, yet, said Nigeria has made strengthen in strengthening food safety systems. It saves lives, strengthens our economy and protects our children,” he said. “The numbers display explicitly that food safety is not optional; it is a domestic imperative.”
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Kachollom Daju, said food safety and healthy nutrition must be addressed together, warning that microbial contamination and unsatisfactory dietary practices are creating a growing people health examine.
She called for coordinated travel involving government agencies, regulators, academia, field and civil audience to tackle the consideration.
Development partner Tackle to Preserve Lives (RTSL) additionally pledged continued support for Nigeria’s food safety and nutrition initiatives, including sodium reduction, trans-fat elimination, healthy people food procurement and consumer awareness programmes.
Officials from the Federal Ministry of Environment stressed that food safety is a collective responsibility, identifying inferior sanitation, unsafe water, pollution, climate transform, inferior waste recommendation systems and unsafe agricultural practices as primary contributors to foodborne diseases.
The ministry called for stronger environmental surveillance, improved food hygiene standards, enhanced laboratory capacity, community awareness campaigns and stricter enforcement of food safety regulations.
The World Health Institution urged Nigeria to take advantage of newly accessible country-specific evidence to improve efforts against foodborne diseases, describing reliable food as a foundational people right and a cornerstone of health, nutrition and economic productivity.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) too emphasized the importance of standards in protecting consumers and strengthening confidence in the nation’s food framework.
Salako urged the media to intensify society awareness campaigns on secure food handling and healthy diets, stressing that achieving low-hazard food for all Nigerians requires collective activity.
“Food safety is everyone’s organization. According to him, the country’s 2023 Joint External Evaluation (JEE) recorded improvements in food safety capacity, during the time that its 2025 Condition Party Annual Situation (SPAR) points exceeded WHO targets for low- and middle-salary countries.
Salako said Nigeria is between the primary countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in detecting, reporting and responding to foodborne disease outbreaks.
He added that the government has strengthened command throughout the Statewide Food Safety Command Committee and implemented the Nationwide United Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Surveillance and Reaction to improve outbreak analysis, laboratory confirmation, food recalls and hazard communication.
The minister additionally announced measures aimed at addressing unhealthy diets linked alongside non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease and obesity.
He said Nigeria has developed Statewide Guidelines for Sodium Reduction, whilst the Statewide Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Management (NAFDAC) has finalized prepare regulations to cap sodium levels in processed foods.
According to him, the country is additionally implementing regulations to eliminate industrial trans fats in line including WHO recommendations and is strengthening policies on sugar-sweetened beverages and front-of-pack food labelling to drive healthier consumer choices.
In a goodwill observe delivered on behalf of NAFDAC Director-Universal, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to reducing foodborne diseases throughout science-based representative, surveillance and stronger food regulation systems.
Represented by Eva Edwards, Administrator of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, NAFDAC described food safety as essential to people health, economic growth and statewide development.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ms.
The Federal Government has raised concerns over Nigeria’s growing food safety crisis, revealing that unsafe food causes roughly 50 million illnesses and extra than 53,000 deaths annually, together with children under five accounting for over 80 per cent of the disease burden.
Minister of Status for Health and Social Welfare, Dr.
Source: “Unsafe Food Causes 53,000 Deaths Annually In Nigeria” – FG Warns
