New learning resource provides key evidence on food safety in developing countries

A woman milks one of her goats in Ségou District, Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Valentin Bognan Koné).

Livelihoods advisers and other interested development professionals can now benefit from a new learning resource on food safety in developing countries. It was written by Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and published by Evidence on Demand, an international development information hub supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The learning resource, Food safety in developing countries: An overview, aims to provide ‘non-food safety experts’ with a good understanding of foodborne disease within the broader context of ‘development’ discussions. It assumes that readers already have a solid grasp of international development contexts, and current development discourse.

It is presented in three main sections:

Part 1 will help readers to understand what is meant by foodborne disease and its impact. It summarises current best evidence and knowledge gaps on foodborne disease in developing countries.

Part 2 summarises some of the interventions for managing food safety and stimulates thinking about the ‘so what’ questions. It shows that foodborne disease is preventable.

Part 3 covers food trends and drivers that affect food safety in developing countries in more detail. It also reviews the geography of food safety and how this impacts on people who are poor, and looks at what food safety means for small farmers, export industries, women, the most vulnerable people, and for nutrition.

The conclusions presented at the end capture what the current best evidence is telling us:

• Food safety has been neglected in developing countries. There is growing evidence that foodborne disease may be an important contributor to gastrointestinal disease.
• Foodborne disease has been increasing in developed countries and is likely to increase in developing countries.
• Foodborne disease is not just a health issue. Already a major determinant of export market access, it is increasingly affecting domestic markets.

 

Is the empowerment of women livestock keepers the key to improved nutrition? A new study seeks to find out

ILRI policies, instititions and livelihoods program

A woman milking a cow in Tanga, Tanzania (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu)

Written by Alessandra Galie
One of the main goals of gender research in the CGIAR research program on Livestock and Fish is improved nutrition. This is also one of the 4 pillars of the program’s gender strategy and one of the 3 system level outcomes of the CGIAR. Good nutrition in the first 1000 days of a child’s life and for lactating mothers is particularly important for the child’s cerebral and physical development. Good nutrition is therefore considered the basis to improve livelihoods and general well-being. Because higher levels of gender inequality are associated with higher levels of both acute and chronic under nutrition (FAO 2012), gender research in research program focuses on enhancing the empowerment of women livestock keepers and consumers.

Animal source foods (ASF) have been shown to offer enormous potential for nutrition in developing countries…

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ILRI presentations win prizes at international conference on pork safety

Maurice Murungi, a graduate fellow attached to the Urban Zoo project, receives the award for best oral presentation by students at the Safe Pork 2015 conference (photo credit: ILRI/Fred Unger).

With rapidly increasing populations and unprecedented rates of urbanization, the demand for meat also rises. Much of this demand is being met by poultry and pig meat as production is well placed to scale up because of short cycles, large numbers of offspring and ability to grow fast on cereal feeds.

In the case of pork, however, one crucial barrier must be overcome if it is to contribute optimally to feeding the future: pork safety. Indeed, since prehistoric times, pork has been subject to taboos and it has been argued that this is because of the large number of parasites and pathogens that pigs can carry.

The biennial Safe Pork conference is the premier meeting for researchers, industry and policymakers concerned with the safety of pork. This year, the meeting was held on 7-10 September in Porto, a coastal city in Portugal, and was co-organized by Spanish and Portuguese universities.

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) presented findings from the Livestock and Fish and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health research programs in the smallholder pig sectors of Uganda and Vietnam as well as from the Urban Zoo project on urban livestock value chains in Kenya and work on possible links between pork production and antimicrobial resistance.

Three ILRI scientists (Delia Grace, Maurice Murungi and Fred Unger) attended as well as visiting scientist Pablo Alarcon. Although our delegation was small, our impact was high and ILRI was awarded two of the four ‘best in show’ prizes: Maurice accepting the prize for best oral presentation by students on behalf of the Urban Zoo team and Delia the prize for best poster on behalf of the PigRisk team.

The conference was an excellent snapshot of the big issues in pork safety. There were several presentations on the most serious zoonotic pathogens in modern pork industries: Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria.

Emerging pathogens were of obvious concern with presentations on hepatitis E and livestock-associated Staphylococcus. In his sum up, the chair said that antimicrobial resistance was the issue of the day; this was witnessed by two sessions on this important topic. Both economics and One Health had a profile.

Overall, the focus of the conference was mostly on intensive swine production in Europe and North America. This had the side effect of drawing more attention to ILRI presentations as participants were interested to hear views from the South and in a globalized world, disease is not a regional problem.

As was pointed out, Denmark may successfully reduce treatment regimes from 20 milligrams to 10, but if countries elsewhere are using thousands of tons of antibiotics a year, their achievement will have little impact in curbing rising antimicrobial resistance.

The conference format was all plenaries, increasing the salience of presentations, and industry was well represented from both pharmaceutical and production sectors.

All in all, the conference was a good opportunity to disseminate ILRI research, get updated on pork safety and network for future collaboration. The next Safe Pork meeting will be held in 2017 in Brazil.

Listed below are the ILRI presentations at the Safe Pork 2015 conference.

Assessing and understanding food safety risk practices in Nairobi pork food system: A value chain approach
Murungi, M.K.; M.; Muinde, P.; Akoko, J.; Rushton, J.; Fèvre, E.M.; Dominguez-Salas, P.; Muloi, D.; Häsler, B.; Alarcon, P.

Food safety challenges in smallholder pig value chains in Vietnam: From an assessment to feasible interventions using an integrated approach
Unger, F.; Lapar, L.; Van Hung, P.; Dang-Xuan, S.; Hong Ngan, P.; Rich, K.M.; Nguyen, H.; Grace, D.

Market based approaches for food safety and animal health interventions in smallholder pig systems: The case of Vietnam
Rich, K.M.; Thu Huyen, N.T.; Nam Ha, D.; Duong Nga, N.T.; Xuan, V.K.; Trung, N.X.; Van Long, T.; Van Hung, P.; Unger, F.; Hamza, K.; Lapar, L.

Present and future use of antimicrobials in pigs in developing countries and case studies from Uganda and Vietnam
Grace, D.; Unger, F.; Roesel, K.; Tinega, G.; Ndoboli, D.; Sinh, D.X.; Nguyen-Viet, H.; Robinson, T.

Risk-based approach for food safety applied to pork value chain in Vietnam
Nguyen-Viet, H.; Sinh, D.X.; Hanh, T.T.T.; Unger, F.; Grace, D.; Phuc, P.D.; Makita, K.

Serological and molecular investigation for brucellosis in swine in selected districts of Uganda
Erume, J.; Roesel, K.; Dione, M.M.; Ejobi, F.; Mboowa, G.; Kungu, J.; Akol, J.; Pezo, D.; El-Adawy, H.; Melzer, F.; Elschner, M.; Neubauer, H.; Grace, D.

Blog post contributed by ILRI scientists Delia Grace and Fred Unger

 

New study recommends continued research on the possible role pigs could play in transmitting Ebola in Uganda

ILRI news

The map above shows high-risk areas due to a spatial overlap of three proposed risk factors for zoonotic Ebola virus transmission in Uganda: modelled zoonotic niche, domestic pig distribution and high numbers of people living in extreme poverty; the map is taken from a paper published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Assessing the potential role of pigs in the epidemiology of Ebola virus in Uganda, by C Atherstone, E Smith, P Ochungo, K Roesel, D Grace, 27 August 2015 (figure credit: ILRI).

This article is written by two of this paper’s authors: Christine Atherstone, an ILRI researcher based in Uganda who leads this work and is lead author, and Delia Grace, who leads ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses research program.

A new risk assessment paper, Assessing the potential role of pigs in the epidemiology of the Ebola virus in Uganda, was published in the science journal

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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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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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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.

 

A4NH 2014 annual report highlights ILRI book on food safety research

The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) last week (4 June) published its 2014 annual report, marking three full years of its first phase of research.

The report highlights a range of research work by the program’s flagships, including the delivery of biofortified crops, work on aflatoxin control and the development of a new global indicator to measure women’s dietary diversity.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) leads the A4NH flagship on agriculture-associated diseases. The annual report features a key output of this flagship, namely, a new book, Food Safety and Informal Markets: Animal Products in Sub-Saharan Africa, published in October 2014.

Edited by ILRI researchers Kristina Roesel and Delia Grace, the book synthesizes lessons from 10 years of food safety research in Africa, including 25 case studies from countries in East, West and Southern Africa, as part of the Safe Food, Fair Food project.