ILRI supports Thailand symposium on food safety, zoonoses and EcoHealth

ILRI Asia

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) recently supported and co-organized a symposium on food safety, zoonoses and EcoHealth in Thailand.

ILRI scientists Fred Unger and Hung Nguyen with Pudji Astuti, Vice Dean, Vet Faculty, University of Gadjah Mada (second from left) and other researchers from the region at the Chiang Mai symposium (Photo credit: ILRI/Duong Van Nhiem).

The fourth Food Safety and Zoonoses Symposium for Asia Pacific, which also included the second Regional EcoHealth Symposium, held 3-5 August 2015 in Chiang Mai, brought together experts to share knowledge and information on food safety and zoonoses and to provide a platform for recent EcoHealth research.

This year’s theme was ‘Professional learning community for human–animal–environmental health’.

The symposium focused on several important themes including assessment of biological and chemical risks in food system, antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals, emergence of zoonoses and vector-borne diseases, innovation in surveillance and epidemiological tools…

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Towards professionalizing—not criminalizing—informal sellers of milk and meat in poor countries

ILRI news

Transporting fresh milk by motorcycle in Tanzania (photo credit: ILRI/Ben Lukuyu).

‘. . . Researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners have developed and piloted an institutional innovation—a training, certification and branding scheme for informal value chain actors—with good potential to improve the safety of animal-source foods sold in informal markets.

‘Past development policy often focused on formal markets, which at best meant neglect of informal markets and often resulted in harassment and penalties for informal agents.

While in the long term markets are likely to formalize, in the short term, interventions that seek to suppress informal markets can be both ineffective and antipoor.

‘Recent evidence suggests that a more constructive, incentive-based approach to informal markets could improve their contribution to economic development as well as increase compliance with standards in areas such as the environment, public health, and labor.

‘There is a growing recognition of…

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Reducing human exposure to aflatoxins in poor countries: Towards new technologies and practices

ILRI news

ILRI graduate fellow Taishi Kayano, from Rakuno Gakuen University, collects milk samples from a Kenya dairy farmer as part of a scoping survey of aflatoxins in the feed-dairy chain in Kenya (photo credit: ILRI/Taishi Kayano).

A new paper describes and assesses the strength of a theory of change for how adoption of farm-level technologies and practices for aflatoxin mitigation can help reduce aflatoxin exposure among consumers.

‘Aflatoxins, naturally occurring fungal toxins that contaminate maize and groundnuts and other crops, pose both acute and chronic risks to human health. Aflatoxins are odourless and colourless and impossible to detect accurately without appropriate testing technologies. Both humans and animals are affected, and there is an additional risk of aflatoxin transmission through animal-source foods, especially milk, from animals fed contaminated feed.

‘Consumption of very high levels of aflatoxins can result in acute illness and death. Chronic exposure, which causes the greater human health burden…

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Free e-version of book on food safety in informal markets in sub-Saharan Africa now available

Safe Food, Fair Food

We are pleased to announce that the book, Food Safety and Informal Markets: Animal Products in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Kristina Roesel and Delia Grace of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is now freely available online as an open access resource.

The book was published in October 2014 and officially launched in January 2015. It highlights key messages of the ILRI-led Safe Food, Fair Food project (2008-2011) and 25 proof-of-concept studies on the safety of milk, meat and fish in eight countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The project was funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by local partners and students.

Access the PDF version of the book.

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Designing practical ways to help the urban poor make choices that improve their nutrition

ILRI news

Paula Dominguez-Salas, above, is a post-doctoral scientist of ILRI and the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH) researching gender and nutrition issues in Nairobi slums (photo credit: ILRI).

Written by Paula Dominguez-Salas

To improve interventions in food systems of the urban poor, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are investigating urban food and nutritional choices in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Their aim is to develop interventions that help people make food choices that improve their nutrition while staying within their low household food budgets and access.

Access to healthy diets is at the heart of good nutrition and the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Foods of animal origin are the only source of vitamin B12 and have good quality protein, preformed vitamin A, highly bioavailable iron, and zinc, in addition to good profiles in other micronutrients. Animal-source foods are…

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ILRI’s training program leads to increased milk yield for dairy farmers in Guwahati, India

ILRI Asia

Indian newspaper The Telegraph reported on Monday, 20 July 2015, that a program by researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) that trained smallholder dairy producers in Guwahati in Assam, India led to an increase in milk production through improved methods and practices of dairy farming.

The milk market in Assam is dominated by informal and unorganized milk market actors, consisting of producers, vendors, sweet makers and cottage processors. Altogether they handle 97% of the total milk market but are not formally recognized and are not integrated in the milk value chain in the state. Milk quality and milk safety are also key concerns for governments and consumers alike.

According to the article, the increase in dairy productivity was reported in an impact assessment carried out by a team of students from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in 2014.

On 17 July 2015, a certification distribution ceremony was…

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New ILRI study finds high levels of aflatoxin in milk and dairy feeds in Greater Addis Ababa milk shed

Aflatoxins are highly toxic fungal by-products produced by certain strains of Aspergillus fungi in more than 40 susceptible crops including maize and groundnuts. Aflatoxins can be separated into aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2.

When ingested, aflatoxin B1 is metabolized to aflatoxin M1 which is secreted into milk. Aflatoxin B1 is particularly important because it has been found in most foods and animal feeds and is highly carcinogenic.

Aflatoxins cause around 90,000 cases of liver cancer each year and are strongly associated with stunting and immune suppression in children. Aflatoxins in contaminated animal feed can lead to reduced animal productivity. They can end up in products like milk, meat and eggs, thus presenting a health risk to humans, with children being particularly susceptible.

In Ethiopia, previous studies have investigated aflatoxin contamination in staple cereals, red chili pepper and ground peas. Now, a new research study published in the journal Food Control (6 July 2015) has, for the first time, documented aflatoxin contamination in milk and dairy feeds in Ethiopia and the results show that milk and dairy feeds in the Greater Addis Ababa milk shed are highly contaminated with aflatoxins.

The cross-sectional study by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was carried out in the Greater Addis Ababa milk shed between September 2014 and February 2015 in order to detect and quantify the levels of aflatoxin M1 in samples of raw cow’s milk and aflatoxin B1 in samples of dairy feed.

The Greater Addis Ababa milk shed was selected because it is a rapidly intensifying system where aflatoxins are likely to be an increasing problem. A value chain approach was used, whereby production, processing and marketing of dairy feeds and milk were examined, as well as milk sold to consumers in Addis Ababa.

A total of 110 milk samples (100 from dairy farmers and 10 from milk traders) and 156 dairy feed samples (114 from farmers and 42 from feed producers, processors and traders) were collected and analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The study analysed all the commonly used dairy feeds such as mixed concentrate feed, brewery by-products, maize grain, pea hulls and silage. The most common ingredients in concentrate feeds were wheat bran, noug cake, pea hulls and maize grain.

All the milk samples were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin M1. Over 90% of the milk samples contained aflatoxin M1 levels that exceeded the European Union limit of 0.05 micrograms per litre. Out of a total of 110 milk samples, only nine contained aflatoxin M1 levels below 0.05 micrograms per litre.

Similarly, all the feed samples were contaminated with aflatoxin B1, with levels ranging from 7 to 419 micrograms per kilogram. Along the value chain from farmers to feed manufacturers and traders, the levels of aflatoxin contamination were fairly similar.

Out of a total of 156 dairy feed samples, only 16 contained aflatoxin B1 at a level less than or equal to 10 micrograms per kilogram. At the same time, 41 feed samples contained aflatoxin B1 at levels exceeding 100 micrograms per kilogram.

There was a significant association between aflatoxin B1 contamination in concentrate feeds and the presence of noug cake in the feed.

Noug (Guizotia abyssinica or Niger seed) is an oilseed crop that is indigenous to Ethiopia. Noug seed is pressed to produce noug oil while the remaining noug cake is sold as animal feed to feed processors and dairy farmers. Noug cake is becoming increasingly popular among dairy farmers in Ethiopia because its high nutrient content increases animal productivity.

Noug cakes were found to be highly contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (290–397 micrograms per kilogram) while the other feed components (wheat bran, maize grain and Brewer’s dry yeast) had relatively low levels of aflatoxin.

For this reason, the authors of the study recommend that further research on aflatoxin risk mitigation should focus on noug cake so as to effectively reduce the risk of aflatoxin contamination in peri-urban and urban dairy value chains in Ethiopia. Risk assessment of aflatoxins in noug seed and its by-products in other food chains should also be carried out.

In addition, there is an overall need to increase awareness of aflatoxins and to support risk mitigation practices along the entire dairy value chain.

“Policymakers and development organization need to support the dissemination of information about good agricultural and storage practices and other simple risk-reduction measures,” the authors conclude.

Citation
Gizachew D, Szonyi B, Tegegne A, Hanson J and Grace D. Aflatoxin contamination of milk and dairy feeds in the Greater Addis Ababa milk shed, Ethiopia. Food Control 59(2016): 773-779.

You may download a 4-page brief of the research article at http://hdl.handle.net/10568/67116

 

Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century–The Lancet

In a new paper published on 23 June 2015, the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change says that tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of this century, and puts forward 10 recommendations for governments to take action in the next 5 years.

ILRI news

Marble figurine of a woman, from the Cyclades, Aegean Sea, early Bronze Age, about 2600-2400 BC (via the British Museum).

The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was formed to map out the impacts of climate change and the necessary policy responses. The central finding from the Commission’s work is that tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. See a summary of the key messages of the paper, published this week in The Lancet (22 Jun 2015)—Health and climate change: Policy responses to protect public health.

One of the authors of the paper is ILRI veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert Delia Grace, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). Another is her colleague Victor Galaz, professor of politics at the Stockholm Resilience Centre

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New journal article presents case studies on CGIAR research on aflatoxins

Working in the maize field in Malawi (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

The CGIAR Consortium, made up of 15 research centres, carries out agricultural research to contribute to the global effort to find solutions to the problems of poverty, hunger, food and nutrition insecurity, and environmental degradation.

Although there is still some disconnection between agriculture, health and nutrition, it is recognized that agriculture does indeed have important effects on human health. Aflatoxins, for example, pose significant health risks in tropical and subtropical regions.

Aflatoxins are highly toxic fungal by-products produced by certain strains of Aspergillus flavus in more than 40 susceptible crops including maize and groundnuts. Aflatoxins cause around 90,000 cases of liver cancer each year and are strongly associated with stunting and immune suppression in children. Aflatoxins in contaminated animal feed not only result in reduced animal productivity, but the toxins can end up in products like milk, meat and eggs, thus presenting a health risk to humans.

A new research paper published in the journal Food Security (20 May 2015) discusses how agricultural research by CGIAR can reduce the health risks from aflatoxin exposure for poor consumers while increasing the opportunities for poor farmers.

The paper, International agricultural research to reduce food risks: case studies on aflatoxins, begins with an overview of the evolution of CGIAR research on food safety and aflatoxins.

It then presents case studies to show how risk-based and market-based approaches as well as crop genetic improvement and biological control can help provide justification for and add value to future CGIAR research on aflatoxins.

In conclusion, the authors present five priority research activities:

1. Generating evidence on the human and animal health impacts of aflatoxins
2. Understanding the potential of improved technologies and good agricultural practices to reduce aflatoxin exposure in farm households and communities
3. Assessing the costs and benefits of proposed strategies on aflatoxin reduction as well as other goals such as income and food security
4. Assessing how costs and benefits are distributed across men and women in households and across different types of households in communities
5. Understanding factors that facilitate and constrain adoption of aflatoxin control strategies would also be assessed, with particular emphasis on gender issues, incentives and on the role of health information and communication.

The paper was written by scientists from the following CGIAR centres: the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Citation
Grace D, Mahuku G, Hoffmann V, Atherstone C, Upadhyaya HD and Bandyopadhyay R. 2015. International agricultural research to reduce food risks: case studies on aflatoxins. Food Security 7(3): 569-582.

 

New ILRI report reviews the knowns and unknowns of antimicrobial resistance in animal agriculture in developing countries

A herd of cattle in Botswana. A new report by ILRI identifies key evidence gaps in our knowledge of antimicrobial resistance in the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors in the developing world (photo credit: ILRI).

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites) develop the ability to continue growing in the presence of an antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal or antiparasitic substance to which they were previously sensitive.

The use of antibiotic drugs to prevent and treat livestock diseases is a key driver for the development of agriculture-related antimicrobial resistance which is now a global public health problem as antibiotics in food animals can enter the food chain and affect the health of consumers and communities.

In developing countries, antimicrobial resistant pathogens are commonly found in animals, animal food products and agro-food environments. However, the lack of national surveillance systems means that we do not have reliable estimates of the true burden of antimicrobial resistant infections in developing countries.

In addition to lack of accurate information on antibiotic use in developing countries, there is limited understanding of the sources of antimicrobial resistance in animal agriculture and the relative importance of different sources.

In order to address these concerns, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has this month (June 2015) produced a report which aims to identify key evidence gaps in our knowledge of livestock- and fisheries-linked antimicrobial resistance in the developing world, and to document ongoing or planned research initiatives on this topic by key stakeholders.

ILRI veterinary epidemiologist Delia Grace wrote the report which reviews the knowns and unknowns of

• the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant infections in livestock and fish systems and products;
• the health and economic impacts of livestock- and fisheries-linked antimicrobial resistance in the developing world;
• technical capacity in developing countries to assess antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors;
• key drivers of antimicrobial resistance in livestock and fisheries production in the developing world; and
• modalities of reducing antibiotic use and levels of resistance.

She concludes with a call to address the global problem of antimicrobial resistance through an evidence-based approach which includes filling knowledge gaps, careful piloting of interventions and rigorous evaluation of success and failure.

The report was produced by ILRI for Evidence on Demand with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services programme, jointly managed by DAI (which incorporates HTSPE Limited) and IMC Worldwide Limited.

Download the report, Review of evidence on antimicrobial resistance and animal agriculture in developing countries.