Food safety in natural disasters
Why are we concerned about natural disasters?
During the first two decades of this century, natural hazards such as floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions rose by 74 percent. These hazards have continued to accelerate, triggering large‑scale disasters worldwide. Between 2005 and 2016, natural disasters claimed an average of 54 000 lives each year.
While this alarming trend concerns everyone, farming communities and the global poor remain disproportionately affected by disaster events.
Even the most resilient populations can find themselves overwhelmed in the face of mounting, multirisk challenges.
How do natural disasters impact food systems?
The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. An average of USD 123 billion in crop and livestock production is lost each year, resulting in unprecedented levels of devastation. Natural hazards can damage, destroy or render inoperable agrifood systems in multiple ways, affecting:
- primary production (crops, livestock, aquaculture and irrigation systems);
- postproduction infrastructure and food‑business operations (storage, transport, processing, markets and food outlets);
- critical infrastructure (power grids, water supply, sanitation systems, transport and communication infrastructure).
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What are the overlooked effects of natural disasters on food safety?
Natural disasters create complex multihazard environments, compounding preexisting challenges and posing serious risks to food systems.
When these systems fail, it becomes difficult to ensure that food remains safe for consumption. For example, many hazards and disasters impact power supplies. When outages occur, or pipes rupture, communities often have difficulty accessing safe water. Upholding good hygiene practices then becomes a challenge, causing food and waterborne illness to spread.
According to one 2023 literature review, exposure to pathogens increases significantly after a natural disaster. The publication lists over 100 documented events in which infectious diseases followed natural disasters. Just under half of the illnesses were shown to be food or waterborne. These include diarrhoea and cholera. Infants and children under five, especially those who are already malnourished, are the most at risk.
Food‑safety risk reduction measures
The link between natural disasters and foodborne illness has led to the development of new food‑safety risk‑reduction strategies. These strategies are presented as a series of infographics, providing pragmatic measures that consumers can follow when facing natural hazards or disasters. The measures are grounded in risk‑based food‑safety principles and codes of practice elaborated by Codex Alimentarius, in particular the General Principles of Food Hygiene, and the aligned risk‑management approaches developed by FAO and WHO. The guidance is designed to reduce the likelihood of unsafe food causing further harm within a strained emergency setting.
In recognition of the multihazard environment typically found in agrifood systems, the guidance takes an all‑hazards approach. The infographics promote behaviors and control measures that minimize the risk to consumers across the entire range of potential food safety hazards, be they microbiological, chemical or physical.
The risk reduction measures are grouped under six key areas:
Infographics
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