FOOD SAFETY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: AN OVERVIEW

FOOD SAFETY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: AN OVERVIEW

A learning resource for DFID Livelihoods Advisers

Delia Grace, October 2015

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This peer reviewed learning resource has been produced by the International Livestock Research Institute in partnership with Evidence on Demand and with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by DAI (incorporating HTSPE Limited) and IMC Worldwide Limited.

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DOI:

First published October 2015

? CROWN COPYRIGHT

Contents

OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................1 Take home messages.................................................................................................................1 Finding your way through the material .....................................................................................2 For more information ................................................................................................................3 A note on the Evidence Criteria used in this material ...............................................................3

1: FOODBORNE DISEASE IMPACTS ....................................................................................4 Developing countries probably bear most of the burden of foodborne disease ......................4 Developing country consumers show a high concern over foodborne disease ........................5 The causes of foodborne disease: biological, chemical and physical hazards...........................7 Foodborne parasites .....................................................................................................8 Fungal toxins ...............................................................................................................11 Other food related toxins: marine, methanol and plant ............................................13 Chemicals ....................................................................................................................14 Most foodborne disease comes from fresh, perishable foods sold in wet markets ...............16 Impact and cost-effectiveness of different tools and approaches for managing and controlling food safety issues ..................................................................................................17

2: FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS ........................................................................................... 17 Foodborne disease is preventable and prevention starts on the farm ...................................17 Caution in assuming that shifts to large scale, formal sector food production and retail will necessarily reduce foodborne disease ....................................................................................18 Caution in assuming provision of infrastructure to the informal sector will necessarily reduce foodborne disease ...................................................................................................................18 Caution in leveraging consumer demand for food safety .......................................................19 Training farmers, extension services, and `Good Agricultural Practices' likely to be useful ...21 Training informal sector agents likely to be useful..................................................................21 Technologies are likely to be useful.........................................................................................22 Policy approaches ....................................................................................................................23

3: FOOD SAFETY TRENDS AND DRIVERS .......................................................................... 24 Trends in food safety ...............................................................................................................24 Drivers of foodborne disease in developing countries ............................................................24 Agricultural intensification.......................................................................................................24 Changes in foods consumed: fresh food and processed food....................................25

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Changes in the retail sector: food chains, supermarkets and street food .................26 Two other trends and potential shocks to food systems: climate change and food defence .......................................................................................................................27 Geography of food safety ...........................................................................................27 Food safety as a market barrier for small farmers .....................................................27 Who are the most vulnerable to foodborne disease?................................................29 Food safety and nutrition ...........................................................................................29 Wasting and stunting..................................................................................................30 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................. 31 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF KEY PAPERS AND FURTHER READING................................................. 43 A STOCKTAKE OF WHAT IS `GOING ON' IN FOOD SAFETY: WHO IS WHO AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING..................................................................................................................... 48 The `Three Sisters' and their food safety initiatives ................................................................48 World Health Organization ......................................................................................................48 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.........................................49 World Animal Health Organization (OIE)....................................................................49 Other international initiatives..................................................................................................50 Regional and national initiatives..............................................................................................51 Useful links to further information and training material .......................................................52 GLOSSARY OF FOOD SAFETY TERMS................................................................................ 53 FACTSHEETS ................................................................................................................... 53

Figures

Figure 1: Outline of the major causes of foodborne disease and their impacts ..................................... 7 Figure 2: Microbial pathogens and their pathways to foodborne disease (the four `Fs'- faeces, fingers, food, fluids) ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 3: A quick introduction to aflatoxins........................................................................................... 13 Figure 4: Animal source foods and fresh produce are responsible for most foodborne illness ............ 16 Figure 5: Increase in per capita consumption of perishables and pulses in developing countries with 1963 as index year (FAO, 2009)............................................................................................................. 25

Tables

Table 1: Chemicals that can be transmitted in food and the food related health burden .................... 15

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Boxes

Box 1: Findings from WHO Foodborne Disease Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG)........................ 5 Box 2: What the public sees: thirteen years of food safety scares in Chinese media.............................. 6 Box 3: Why it is so difficult to understand the full health burden of aflatoxins..................................... 12 Box 4: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fish ? an example from C?te d'Ivoire ............................... 15 Box 5: Using low-cost diagnostics to leverage consumer demand for improved safety ....................... 20 Box 6: Safe food, street food in South Africa......................................................................................... 22 Box 7: A champion for food safety ........................................................................................................ 23

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