Chemical contaminants, climate change and AMR are complicating food-borne illnesses: India needs to step up its game, say experts

WHO's updated 2026 global burden estimates show approximately 866 million people — nearly one in nine — fall ill from contaminated food annually, with 1.52 m...

What Happened

WHO's updated 2026 global burden estimates show approximately 866 million people — nearly one in nine — fall ill from contaminated food annually, with 1.52 million deaths each year and 57.1 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost.
Experts warn that three converging threats are worsening India's food safety burden: antimicrobial resistance (AMR) entering the food chain through veterinary antibiotic overuse, climate change expanding the geographic range of pathogens and creating conditions for toxin proliferation, and chemical contaminants (pesticide residues, heavy metals, microplastics) in the food supply.
Africa and South-East Asia together account for nearly three-quarters of all foodborne illnesses globally and 60% of deaths — India, as part of the South-East Asian region, bears a disproportionately high share.
FSSAI notified the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) First Amendment Regulations, 2024, banning antibiotics including nitrofurans, nitroimidazoles, and combinations containing chloramphenicol, colistin, and streptomycin in milk, meat, poultry, and aquaculture — enforceable from April 2025.
Experts call for integrated surveillance systems linking human, animal, and environmental health data (One Health approach) and stronger laboratory infrastructure at state level to detect emerging contaminants.

Static Topic Bridges

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the Food Chain

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites evolve to survive exposure to antimicrobial drugs, making infections harder or impossible to treat. In the food system, AMR is driven primarily by the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and aquaculture to promote growth and prevent disease — residues of these antibiotics enter the human food supply and create selection pressure for resistant strains.

AMR is listed by WHO as one of the top ten global public health threats; drug-resistant pathogens like Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli in food are a direct pathway of transmission to humans.
India committed to the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR (November 2022) at the Third Global High-level Ministerial Conference on AMR, signalling multilateral commitment to action.
FSSAI's 2024 amendment specifically targets antibiotics of critical importance to human medicine (colistin, chloramphenicol) being prohibited in food animal production.
India's National Action Plan on AMR (2017–2021) was extended; the food sector is covered under the One Health framework coordinated by MoHFW, DAHD, and MoEFCC.

Connection to this news: The article focuses on how AMR in the food chain is one of the three major emerging threats identified by experts complicating India's foodborne illness burden, alongside climate change and chemical contaminants.

WHO Food Safety Framework and India's Regulatory Response

WHO's food safety work is guided by the Five Keys to Safer Food (keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, use safe water and raw materials). Internationally, food safety standards are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission — a joint body of FAO and WHO — whose standards serve as the benchmark for WTO dispute resolution under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is the apex regulatory body for food safety in India — it sets standards, licenses food businesses, and enforces compliance.
India is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC); it chairs the millet standards initiative alongside Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal.
The Codex Alimentarius covers food hygiene, additives, pesticide/veterinary drug residues, contaminants, labelling, and import/export certification — FSSAI aligns Indian standards with Codex as part of trade facilitation.
WHO's 2026 updated estimates now cover 42 key food hazards (bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals) at national, regional, and global levels — a significant methodological upgrade from 2010 estimates.

Connection to this news: India's need to "step up its game" as identified by experts requires aligning FSSAI enforcement capacity with WHO/Codex frameworks, especially for emerging threats like AMR residues and climate-linked pathogen surges.

Climate Change and Food Safety Nexus

Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events create new risks in the food system: higher ambient temperatures accelerate microbial growth in perishables; floods contaminate fields with faecal pathogens; droughts concentrate chemical contaminants in reduced water volumes; and changing ecologies allow food-borne pathogens to establish in previously unaffected regions.

Aflatoxins (produced by Aspergillus fungi in stored grains) proliferate more aggressively under the heat-moisture combinations projected under climate change — India's grain storage infrastructure is considered a major vulnerability.
Vibrio species (causing seafood-borne illness) expand their range as coastal sea surface temperatures rise — relevant to India's extensive coastline and large seafood export sector.
Climate-linked food inflation reduces dietary diversity and increases reliance on less-regulated informal food supply chains, compounding safety risks for low-income populations.
The IPCC has flagged food safety as an under-appreciated climate adaptation challenge in South and South-East Asia.

Connection to this news: Climate change is identified as a structural multiplier of foodborne illness risk in India — it interacts with existing gaps in cold chain infrastructure, rural sanitation, and food testing laboratory coverage.

Key Facts & Data

866 million people fall ill from contaminated food globally each year; 1.52 million die (WHO, 2026 updated estimates).
Children under five bear nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases globally.
FSSAI ban on critical antibiotics in food production came into full effect April 2025.
India committed to WHO Global Action Plan on AMR at Muscat Ministerial Conference, November 2022.
57.1 million DALYs lost globally each year due to unsafe food (WHO).
Africa and South-East Asia account for ~75% of all foodborne illnesses globally.
Codex Alimentarius covers 42 food hazard categories in its 2026 updated estimates baseline.
FSSAI established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare).