Foodborne Diseases in History
Food can be a source of health and healing, but it can also cause illness, discomfort and death. The relationship between food and health—as far as can be established—has been known for about 7,000 years. Some plants were consumed and traded for healing as early as the fifth millennium BC.
Foodborne illness and death have occurred throughout history. Although the available evidence is limited, it allows some conclusions about the food-related problems people experienced in the past.
Early humans ate whatever food they could find. They may therefore have experienced health problems after eating raw meat contaminated with microorganisms, poisonous mushrooms or indigestible plants.
Weak and sick animals were the easiest prey, so eating diseased animals may also have caused serious problems. The discovery of fire was important because it reduced the microbial load of food and made it safer.
The emergence of agriculture in the Neolithic period increased food availability, but probably also introduced new diseases. Animal husbandry brought people into closer contact with animals, creating opportunities for previously unfamiliar pathogens to pass from animals to humans.
Storing agricultural surpluses also created problems such as mold growth, spoilage and contamination. Eating these foods would have caused health problems. The transition to communal living during this period also created conditions for outbreaks of food poisoning.
Agriculture also brought the threat of ergotism. This illness occurs after the consumption of grains contaminated with ergots produced by the fungus Claviceps purpurea.
The principal cereals affected are wheat, barley, rye and oats. Eating ergot-contaminated grain can cause severe hallucinations or gangrene accompanied by high fever.
Ergotism has been recorded in Assyrian and ancient Egyptian civilizations, in the Middle Ages and even in the twentieth century.
In his memoirs, the Greek general Xenophon describes an expedition against the Persian Empire in 401 BC. The expedition did not go as planned, and the army of 10,000 soldiers began to retreat.
As it retreated and plundered its surroundings, the army reached the Black Sea coast and raided beehives. The honey was unusual: the soldiers became intoxicated, with nausea and vomiting. It took several days for the army to recover.
Poisonous honey from the Black Sea coast was also used as a military strategy. In 67 BC, the Roman Empire launched an expedition against the Kingdom of Pontus on the Black Sea coast.
Mithridates IV, the king of Pontus, allowed the Roman army to enter his territory. Unaware of the strategy, the Roman general Pompey established a camp in the region, and his soldiers began raiding local beehives.
The honey poisoned the soldiers, causing intoxication and vomiting. Taking advantage of their condition, the king of Pontus destroyed three Roman units, exactly as he had intended. The Roman army was forced to retreat.
Food-related lead poisoning occupies an important place in human history. Although some scholars warned against lead in their own time, food poisoning from lead continued for approximately 5,000 years.
Lead is readily available and easy to work, so people used it widely to make vessels and pipes from about 3500 BC onward. Preparing and consuming acidic foods in lead vessels caused lead poisoning.
Similarly, using lead pipes in drinking water transmission lines was an important health problem in Roman civilization; but this was unknown.
The problem became more serious in Roman civilization when wine produced in lead vessels was found to taste better. Lead from the vessel combines with acetic acid formed during wine production to produce lead acetate, a sweet-tasting compound.
Wine production in lead vessels became popular, and people drank liters of wine daily even though as little as a teaspoon could be toxic. Lead poisoning tends to develop over time, causing problems such as paralysis, epilepsy and painful abdominal cramps rather than immediate effects.
Hippocrates (460–377 BC) first recognized the harmful effects of lead, and Nicander (197–130 BC) clearly described lead poisoning. In the first century AD, Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder warned that wine made in lead vessels could cause nervous-system disorders. The public did not heed these warnings.
Some researchers think that the wines produced in lead containers for the sake of taste brought about the end of Roman civilization.
Lead poisoning from wine continued through the medieval and early modern periods. Examination of the remains of Pope Clement, who died in 1047, indicated that chronic lead poisoning had caused his death.
Gockel described the harmful effects of lead-containing wine in 1694. Wines containing lead were banned in 1696.
From the Neolithic period to the nineteenth century, communal life developed from small settlements into cities and states.
As populations grew and became concentrated in particular areas, large amounts of human waste accumulated. This increased the risk of fecal contamination of food.
The lack of effective waste disposal and sewerage systems created conditions for foodborne diseases associated with fecal contamination. This remained a serious problem in London until the 1850s.
From the nineteenth century onward, scientific and technological developments became important in ensuring food safety. Effective sewerage systems and equipment such as refrigerators and ovens made safer food consumption possible.
As science began to explain the causes of disease, people gained a better understanding of the relationship between food and health and could take appropriate food-safety precautions.
The first identified and documented food-related death in history was that of Alexander the Great. Researchers concluded that he died in 323 BC from typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi in food he had eaten.
A clear understanding of the causes of illness and death emerged with the development of science and technology from the nineteenth century onward.
Official figures include only recorded cases of food-related illness. The true total, including unreported cases, is therefore thought to be higher.
Overview of foodborne diseases
According to World Health Organization data, food causes more than 200 diseases, and approximately 420,000 people die each year from various foodborne diseases.
Children under five account for 40% of food-related deaths, with 125,000 children dying from foodborne illnesses each year.
Diarrheal diseases are among the most common foodborne illnesses. Unsafe food causes diarrhea in 550 million people annually, resulting in 230,000 deaths.
The reasons food can adversely affect health can be considered under three headings:
1. A component of food
2. Genetic structure and metabolism of the individual
3. Inadequate or excessive nutrition.
Food can become harmful to health for these three main reasons, leading to various food- and nutrition-related health problems. Foodborne diseases can be categorized as follows:
1. Food poisoning
2. Infection
3. Allergy
4. Digestive problems
5. Marasmus, malnutrition and obesity
6. Other diseases (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney and liver failure, neurological disorders, tooth decay, etc.)
This is the general framework of the causes and types of foodborne diseases. However, the cause-and-effect relationship is quite complex and intricate. For example, food poisoning can be caused by microorganisms or it can be caused by a component in the food. Similarly, different components found in food can have a toxic effect as well as cause many different health problems.
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References
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Ray, B., & Bhunia, A. (2021). Temel Gıda Mikrobiyolojisi (5. baskıdan çeviri; D. Heperkan, Çev. Ed.). Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
Raymond, J. L., & Morrow, K. (2023). Krause ve Mahan Besin ve Beslenme Bakım Süreci (16. baskı; G. Akbulut, Çev. Ed.). Nobel Tıp Kitabevleri.
World Health Organization. (2015). WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases: Foodborne disease burden epidemiology reference group 2007–2015. World Health Organization. ISBN9789241565165.
World Health Organization. (2026). Food safety. Fact sheet, June4,2026.
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM). (2023). Risks for human health related to the presence of grayanotoxins in certain honey. EFSA Journal, 21(3), e07866.
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM). (2012). Scientific Opinion on Ergot alkaloids in food and feed. EFSA Journal, 10(7), 2798.
Delile, H., Blichert-Toft, J., Goiran, J.-P., Keay, S., & Albarède, F. (2014). Lead in ancient Rome’s city waters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(18), 6594–6599.
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Halil İbrahim Akgül
Halil Ibrahim Akgul, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Food Engineering at Bayburt University, where he works in the Division of Food Sciences within the Faculty of Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Food Engineering from Akdeniz University in 2010, followed by an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Food Engineering from Atatürk University in 2015 and 2020, respectively. His formally recognised academic fields are Food Sciences and Engineering, Food Technologies, Dairy and Dairy Products Technology, and Food Microbiology.
Dr. Akgul has more than fifteen years of professional, research, and academic experience in food science. Between 2011 and 2013, he worked as the food engineer responsible for operations at the Pilot Dairy and Bread Factory of Atatürk University’s Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises. This industrial experience, combined with his subsequent academic research, gave him extensive practical and scientific knowledge of milk processing, dairy production, food quality, hygiene, and product development.
His research is primarily focused on milk and dairy products, dairy microbiology, starter cultures, lactic acid bacteria, exopolysaccharides, butter technology, and the physicochemical, microbiological, sensory, and nutritional properties of foods. His studies have examined the quality and fatty-acid composition of traditional butter, aroma formation in butter produced with different starter cultures, raw-milk quality, the characterisation and antioxidant activity of bacterial exopolysaccharides, traditional dairy products such as çökelek and karın kaymağı, colostrum powder, and the use of fruit-derived ingredients in ice cream production.
His academic record includes peer-reviewed research articles published in national and international journals, including Mljekarstvo, Acta Scientiarum Technology, the Journal of Food Safety and Food Quality, the International Journal of Food Engineering, the Atatürk University Journal of Agricultural Faculty, and ATA Food Journal. Four of the research articles currently listed in his university profile were published in SCI-Expanded-indexed journals. He has also contributed to twelve national and international conference papers and presentations covering dairy products, food microbiology, butter quality, fatty-acid composition, starter cultures, exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria, colostrum, traditional foods, and functional ice-cream formulations.
Dr. Akgul has participated as a researcher or adviser in eleven completed scientific and applied research projects. These projects have addressed the modernisation of pilot dairy-processing facilities; the production and quality characteristics of colostrum powder; the physicochemical and microbiological quality of butter and raw milk; the identification of exopolysaccharide-producing lactic acid bacteria; the development and production optimisation of starter cultures for mould-ripened cheese; the standardisation of traditional dairy products; and the use of sloe berry and persimmon fibre in ice-cream production.
His teaching experience spans undergraduate, associate-degree, and graduate education. The courses he has taught include Food Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Fermented Dairy Products Technology, Butter Production and Processing Technology, Healthy Living and Nutrition, Organic Agriculture and Food, Popular Science, Digital Literacy, and Information Technologies. Through these courses, he combines fundamental food chemistry and engineering principles with dairy technology, nutrition, scientific literacy, and the practical communication of scientific knowledge.
He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Gıda ve Sağlık, a multilingual digital publication devoted to food, nutrition, health, food chemistry, food microbiology, and culinary science. Through this platform, he draws upon his academic background, teaching experience, research activity, and practical knowledge of food production to present scientifically grounded information in a detailed and accessible form for an international readership.