IFPRI 2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report features chapter on food safety management

A local pork vendor at the wet market sells her meat to two local women, Hung Yen province, Vietnam (photo credit: ILRI/Nguyen Ngoc Huyen).

 

The 2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report launched last week (18 March 2015) by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) examines the major food policy issues, developments and decisions around the world in 2014 and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2015.

An entire chapter has been dedicated to the subject of food safety which is a major global concern. The chapter titled Food safety: Reducing and managing food scares is authored by Delia Grace, leader of the Food Safety and Zoonoses program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and John McDermott, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture and Health (A4NH) led by IFPRI.

The chapter begins with a review of the high-profile foodborne disease events that took place in 2014 as well as progress that has been made around the world to improve the management of infectious disease through better information, technology and institutions.

The complexity and diversity of food safety concerns in three ‘worlds’ – developed economies, least developed economies and emerging economies – are examined next.

The authors define developed economies as those where foodborne diseases are of high concern but impose relatively small health burdens. Least developed economies are those where foodborne diseases, although prevalent, are not among the highest priorities of public health officials. Emerging economies are those where foodborne diseases are both highly prevalent and highly prioritized.

The chapter also discusses other health impacts of agriculture such as antimicrobial resistance, which is emerging as a serious threat to human health. This is especially so in emerging economies, where large amounts of antibiotics are manufactured and used with minimal regulation or reporting.

“There is increasing consensus that resistance to antimicrobials of human importance has been generated in animals and has since spread to humans,” the authors note.

The chapter concludes with suggestions for better management of food safety, noting that food safety is a global public good and, as such, requires international cooperation and investment in safer agricultural and food systems.

 

ILRI presents at inaugural regional conference on zoonotic diseases in eastern Africa

Farming scene in the highlands of Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

 

Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, are diseases that can be passed from animals to people. Nearly two-thirds of emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic and about 60% of all human pathogens are zoonotic.

Zoonoses such as brucellosis, anthrax and rabies are endemic in eastern Africa and yet formally published research studies on zoonoses in the region are hard to come by; useful research findings remain tucked away in the libraries of universities and other research institutions in form of working papers and students’ theses: the so-called ‘grey literature’.

In order to bring to the fore the wealth of unpublished research on zoonoses from studies carried out in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, the first-ever regional conference on zoonotic diseases in eastern Africa was held in Naivasha, Kenya on 9-12 March 2015.

The conference brought together academicians, researchers and graduate students from across Africa who presented on topics such as the One Health approach to disease prevention and control, the global health security agenda, the recent Ebola outbreak and its control, and control of rabies in East Africa.

Some 80 oral and poster presentations covered a wide range of aspects of research on zoonotic diseases including epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, diagnosis, surveillance, outbreak investigations, disease modelling and foodborne zoonoses.

Bernard Bett, a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), gave a keynote presentation on behalf of the institute’s director general Jimmy Smith detailing how research by ILRI is contributing towards healthy people, animals and ecosystems.

Food insecurity remains a challenge for millions of people in the region. Animal-source foods can play a role in improving food and nutritional security, particularly in developing countries where demand for meat, milk and eggs is on the rise. Thus, food security is linked to the health of the livestock that produce these food products.

However, because of the threat of endemic and emerging zoonotic diseases, human health is influenced by animal health. Furthermore, changing patterns of land use, such as irrigation and intensified farming, can have an impact on the life cycles of vectors that spread diseases that affect both animals and people. Therefore, the impact of agriculture on ecosystem health also needs to be considered when tackling animal and human health challenges.

View the presentation “Healthy people, animals and ecosystems: The role of CGIAR research”
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#IWD2015: Why do we need a gender perspective in research to improve food safety in informal markets?

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

Almost two-thirds of the world’s 925 million poor livestock keepers are rural women, and women often predominate in urban agriculture. In Africa, most livestock products are sold in traditional or informal markets which offer livelihood opportunities as well as affordable, convenient and nutritious food to millions of people.

Women and men often play different roles in animal production and in the processing, sale and preparation of animal food products. Women are more often involved in keeping poultry and small ruminants while men tend to have greater involvement in rearing of cattle. Almost everywhere in rural Africa, women are responsible for preparing and cooking food for home consumption.

Animal slaughter is also often differentiated by gender, with women being responsible for killing poultry, typically inside the homestead, but most slaughter of larger animals outside the home being done by men.

Small-scale processing of animal food products is often carried out by women while more modern, industrialized operations, such as dairy cooperatives, are often dominated by men, at least in managerial and ownership roles.

Traditional markets are particularly important for women. For example, in most African countries, the majority of street food processors and vendors are women, while the majority of customers are men. As well as being one of the few livelihood strategies open to poor women, the street food sector is of great importance to the economy.

The different roles of women and men in the production and processing of animal foods predispose them to different benefits as well as risks.

For example, in West Africa where men dominate milk production, they are more at risk from zoonotic diseases associated with direct contact with cows during milking. On the other hand, in smallholder farms in Kenya where women are often in charge of milking, the situation is reversed.

In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where artisanal coastal fishing is a key livelihood activity, men are in charge of fishing but women handle the on-shore smoking and selling of the fish.

Because of these variations in the roles of men and women in the production, processing and sale of animal food products, it is necessary to adopt a gender perspective in food safety research aimed at reducing health risks and improving the safety of animal products sold in the informal sector.

A study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners on the microbial quality and safety of meat in Bodija market in Ibadan, Nigeria revealed that gender and group membership had an influence on meat quality.

Women were found to have significantly better food safety practice than men, though there was no significant difference in their knowledge of and attitude towards food safety. The study also identified butchers’ associations as promising entry points for interventions to improve food safety.

Another study investigated the social and gender determinants of the risk of exposure to Cryptosporidium from urban dairying in Dagoretti, Nairobi, Kenya. Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that causes the diarrhoeal disease cryptosporidiosis.

Women were found to have greater contact with raw milk and this increased their risk of exposure to cryptosporidiosis infection. However, there was no significant difference between men and women as regards knowledge on symptoms of cryptosporidiosis or other zoonotic diseases associated with dairy farming.

These two examples show how a gender perspective in food safety research can ensure:

• men’s and women’s differential exposure to agriculture-related risks are better understood, particularly as it relates to health outcomes
• women have increased capacity to manage risks and are more involved in the surveillance of risks
• women directly benefit from interventions designed to reduce agriculture-associated diseases, taking into account roles and responsibilities that may put them at increased risk of exposure

Read more in this ILRI research brief: Poverty and gender aspects of food safety in informal markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

New book presents research findings on food safety in Africa’s traditional meat, milk and fish markets

Animal products – meat, milk, eggs and fish – are vital components of the diets and livelihoods of people across sub-Saharan Africa. However, these nutritious food products are also the most risky. Most food-borne disease is caused by perishable foods: meat, milk, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables.

Food borne-disease can be serious. In a minority of cases, it can cause epilepsy, paralysis, kidney failure and death. In addition, the global economic burden of food-borne disease is significant. Annually, food-borne disease is estimated to cost US$78 billion in the United States of America, US$14 billion in China and US$3 billion in Nigeria.

Over 80% of the meat, milk, eggs and fish produced in developing countries is sold in traditional or informal markets. These markets are accessible, sell affordable food and provide market access to small-scale farmers. However, informal markets often lack adequate refrigeration, inspection and control of food-borne disease.

For over a decade, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners have been conducting research on food safety in informal markets to support intensifying livestock production by building capacity for better management of the safety of animal food products.

A newly published book launched two weeks ago (27 Jan 2015) at ILRI’s Nairobi headquarters presents a review of food safety in informal markets and 25 case studies of the meat, milk and fish sectors in eight countries in East, West and southern Africa, as part of the Safe Food, Fair Food project.

A key finding from the book is that in low-income countries it is important to distinguish between the potential food-borne hazards (such as harmful bacteria, chemicals and toxins) and the actual risks they are likely to present to consumers.

For example, data from East Africa show that although the raw milk available from street vendors and traditional markets may contain many health hazards, the actual risks to consumers may be negligible due to the common practice of boiling milk before consuming it.

“Food safety policy should be guided by rigorous research to understand the ways food is produced and consumed in different societies so we can devise strategies that are most likely to reduce the risks, particularly to poor consumers,” said Kristina Roesel, coordinator of the Safe Food, Fair Food project.

“Improving food safety in informal markets will require policies that are guided by an understanding of producer and consumer behaviour, local diets and customs, and interventions that can reduce illness without imperilling food security or increasing poverty,” said Delia Grace, program leader for food safety at ILRI.

Download the book, Food Safety and Informal Markets: Animal Products in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Kristina Roesel and Delia Grace.

 

High-profile ILRI conference discusses the future of livestock research for healthy animals and people

The contribution of livestock to human and animal health was among the several topics discussed at a high-profile conference organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 6-7 November 2014. The theme of the conference was Livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security, economic well-being and healthy lives.

The conference was the culmination of a series of events organized this year to mark 40 years of livestock research by ILRI and its predecessors, the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD) and the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA).

Discussions under the sub-theme of ‘livestock and healthy lives’ began on the morning of the first day of the conference with a featured talk by Lorne Babiuk, vice president for research at the University of Alberta on how healthy animals can improve the health, welfare and economy of people.

Lorne Babiuk presents a featured talk titled Healthy animals equals healthy, productive people at the ILRI@40 conference held on 6-7 November 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

In his presentation, Babiuk noted that smallholder farmers dominate livestock production in many developing countries and globally, one billion poor people depend on livestock for their livelihoods.

However, despite the potential of smallholder livestock production to contribute to meeting the growing demand for animal protein in the developing world, the livestock sector is beset by several challenges such as emerging diseases and limited natural resources for raising livestock.

Zoonotic diseases, in particular, have impacts on international trade, food prices and human health.

Babiuk then discussed three biotechnology options that can be used to improve livestock production: vaccines, breeding and selection of disease-resistant animals, and marker-assisted management to produce better quality carcasses.

“Vaccination, in my opinion, has been one of the most cost-effective approaches for the management of infectious diseases,” he said.

“In fact, it’s been stated that vaccination has saved more lives than all other therapeutic interventions in the world.”

He also gave examples of how genetics can be used to improve productivity through classical breeding and selection and use of genomic tools.

Babiuk summed up his presentation by stating that increasing food security will become more critical as the world population increases and that “healthy animals equals healthy people equals healthy environment equals stable economic environments”.

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Continuing with the underlying theme of Babiuk’s talk, a roundtable discussion was held in the afternoon to examine the relationship between livestock, nutrition and health.

John McDermott, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, moderated the discussion. The panellists were Walter Masiga, the World Organisation for Animal Health sub-regional representative for eastern Africa; Juliana Rwelamira, managing director of Sasakawa Africa Association and Vish Nene, director of ILRI’s livestock vaccines initiative.

Left to Right: Vish Nene (ILRI), Juliana Rwelamira (Sasakawa Africa Association) and Walter Masiga (World Organisation for Animal Health) take part in a roundtable discussion on livestock and healthy lives at the ILRI@40 Addis Ababa conference (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

McDermott began with an overview of the controversial and somewhat counterintuitive role of livestock in nutrition.

He noted that while animal-source foods are important sources of nutrition for poor people in low-income countries, there is underconsumption of livestock products by the poor on account of the high price of meat, milk and eggs relative to that of cereals.

On the other hand, overconsumption of livestock products in high-and middle-income countries has led to an increase in cases of obesity and related non-communicable diseases, a trend that is starting to emerge in low-income countries as well.

McDermott also noted that while meat, milk and eggs are good sources of vital nutrients, there are considerable health risks associated with livestock and livestock products.

“The most nutritious foods are also the most risky. You’re not going to get very sick eating rice as compared to eating spoiled milk or meat,” he said.

Intensification of agriculture to increase the supply of livestock is also associated with environmental contamination and increase of microbial populations, he added, noting that three-quarters of emerging diseases are zoonotic.

The roundtable discussion sought to link the economic development agenda of the livestock sector with issues related to health and nutrition.

Among the topics discussed were the One Health approach for more effective control of emerging diseases; vaccines and diagnostics; value chain development to reduce postharvest food losses and improve food safety and nutritional quality; risk-based approaches to food safety in informal markets and strengthening of national control systems to prevent misuse of antibiotics in treatment of animals.

The outcomes of the discussions on livestock and health on the first day of the conference fed into a parallel session on the second day. The aim of the session was to look into the future to identify the key priority areas for research on livestock and health in the next 40 years.

About 20 participants, mostly veterinary practitioners, took part in the parallel session on livestock and healthy lives which began with three scene-setting PowerPoint presentations and one poster presentation by scientists from ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses program:

• One Health and Ecohealth: A framework for agriculture and health research and intervention by Hung Nguyen-Viet
• Livestock for healthy lives by Delia Grace
• Trends in global health and food safety by Barbara Szonyi
• Livestock and healthy lives by Barbara Szonyi

Following the presentations, the participants split into three groups for an in-depth discussion of the identified priority areas for research on livestock and health in the next 40 years. The discussions were based on their individual experiences, the content of the three presentations and current global trends in animal and human health.

They identified the following three priority areas for research on livestock and health:

• emerging infectious diseases;
• vaccines and diagnostics; and
• antimicrobial residues and resistance.

Research on emerging infectious diseases needs to focus on increased understanding of the drivers of disease, for example, agricultural intensification, climate change, new farming systems, irrigation and increased mobility of animals and people. Research activities could include mapping, modelling and analysis of vectors; vector control through the use of ‘green’ insecticides; biological control of vectors and adoption of the Ecohealth approach to disease prevention and control.

Research on vaccines should be aimed at developing safe, single-dose, affordable ‘combination’ vaccines that are easy to deliver and target multiple pathogens. Rapid diagnostics that can be used along the food chain and are linked into large databases for surveillance can provide early warning systems for quick detection and reporting of potential health hazards and timely intervention.

Research on antibiotic residues and resistance needs to ensure prudent use of antimicrobials for treatment of farm animals to avoid residues in animal-source food products. The transfer of antibiotic resistance from animals to milk, meat and eggs was also identified as an important research area.

Dieter Schillinger leads a group discussion on antimicrobial residues and resistance as a priority area for research on livestock and healthy lives (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

The group summed up the vision of ILRI’s livestock-for-health research in the next 40 years as follows:

‘ILRI research has contributed to appropriate health management systems leading to healthy animals, people and ecosystems and increase animal-source food and income for all’.

 

ILRI research on animal health and food safety featured at the 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture

ILRI scientist Silvia Alonso presents at the 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture held at Nairobi, Kenya on 27-30 October 2014 (photo credit: ILRI/Tezira Lore).

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) yesterday (28 Oct 2014) presented some of their recent research findings from studies on animal health and food safety in East Africa at the 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture. The conference is being held from 27 to 30 October 2014 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Some 300 participants from all over Africa and beyond are attending the conference whose theme is Africa’s animal agriculture: Macro-trends and future opportunities. The five conference sub-themes are:

• Youth: The future hope?
• Which way for smallholder production systems?
• Pastoral systems: Options for tomorrow
• Market access: Opportunities for enhanced access to local, regional and global markets
• Africa’s human capacity challenge for animal agriculture: Which way now?

Silvia Alonso, a postdoctoral scientist with ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses program presented the following two papers:

• Smallholder pig producers and their pork consumption practices in three districts in Uganda (presented on behalf of lead author Kristina Roesel, an ILRI graduate fellow at Freie Universitaet Berlin and coordinator of the Safe Food, Fair Food project)
• Vaccination as a way forward? A case study on how a poultry vaccination intervention influences poultry keeping in Kenya (presented on behalf of lead author Johanna Lindahl, an ILRI postdoctoral scientist)

Results from a study on Kenyan milk consumers’ behaviour and perceptions of aflatoxin were also presented. This study was a joint output of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets.

Additionally, the following ILRI posters on smallholder dairying in Tanzania and pastoralism in Kenya and Tanzania featured in the poster session:

• Smallholder dairy farming in Tanzania: Farming practices, and animal health and public health challenges and opportunities
• Pastoralism in Kenya and Tanzania: Challenges and opportunities in animal health and food security
• Creating novel approaches to mitigate aflatoxin risk in food and feed with lactic acid bacteria – mold growth inhibition and aflatoxin binding

 

Posters by projects in ILRI’s Food Safety and Zoonoses program featured at the 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture held at Nairobi, Kenya on 27-30 October 2014 (photo credit: ILRI/Tezira Lore).

 

 

 

ILRI scientist Delia Grace receives the Trevor Blackburn Award for contributions to animal health and food safety

Delia Grace, veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

We are pleased to congratulate Delia Grace on being announced as the winner of the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) Trevor Blackburn Award in recognition of her multiple outstanding contributions to animal health, animal welfare and food safety in Africa and Asia.

In particular, she was recognized for her work with community health programs and research into public health and food safety; her pioneering work highlighting the benefits and risks of the engagement of women in livestock farming in developing countries; and the delivery of training and studies in numerous African countries.

The announcement was made today, 25 September 2014, during the awards ceremony at the BVA Members’ Day in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Grace is a veterinary epidemiologist with nearly 20 years’ experience in developing countries. She leads the Food Safety and Zoonoses program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Agriculture-Associated Diseases theme of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

She has previously worked in various capacities and settings including general practice in Lancashire; voluntary service in rural Bangladesh; exploring the roles of community animal health systems in eastern Africa; undertaking applied research addressing the enormity of trypanosomiasis control in West Africa; advising the World Health Organization and high-level policy engagement at national and regional levels in Africa and Asia.

On learning that she was to receive the Trevor Blackburn Award for 2014, Grace commented:

“I am delighted to receive this award. I have been working since 1995 on animal health problems and their solutions in different countries of Africa and Asia.

“Around one billion poor people depend on livestock for their livelihoods and livestock disease is one of their greatest concerns and constraints. As much as a third of the value of livestock is lost each year from largely preventable diseases.

“British and Irish veterinarians have had a long history of working overseas to improve animal health and I am proud to be part of this tradition.”

Iain Wright, ILRI’s interim deputy director general, also expressed his delight upon hearing the good news.

He said: “Delia is recognized as a global leader in research on food safety and zoonoses in developing countries and is a strong supporter of the ‘One Health’ approach.”

“Having worked with community animal health care workers, she appreciates the realities of delivering animal health care services on the ground and brings this experience to bear in ensuring that her research is practical and relevant.”

The Trevor Blackburn Award recognizes contributions to animal health and welfare in a developing country by BVA members and was set up in memory of Trevor Blackburn who was president of the BVA 1984 to 1985, Commonwealth Veterinary Association 1988 to 1991 and World Veterinary Association 1991 to 1995.

View some of Delia Grace’s research publications here

 

Healthy lives: Tackling food-borne diseases and zoonoses

Agriculture imposes large burdens on human health. Three million deaths a year and one-quarter of all deaths from infection are agriculture-associated, and almost all of these occur in developing countries.

Zoonotic and food-borne diseases kill 2.2 million people and sicken 2.4 billion people annually; poor people are most affected by these diseases. For 70% of agriculture-associated diseases, proven and cost-effective agricultural solutions exist.

The presentation below, made at the Tropentag 2014 conference, gives an overview of the global burden of zoonotic and food-borne diseases and some research-based interventions that can be used to prevent and control these diseases.

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Healthy lives: Tackling food-borne diseases and zoonoses

This week, ILRI staff are participating in the Tropentag 2014 International Conference in Prague, Czech Republic (17-19 September 2014). There is also a dedicated ILRI@40 side event on livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security and healthy lives.  See all the posters.

 

Sustainable intensification?: Implications for the emergence of diseases

Currently new diseases are emerging at the rate of one every four months and three out of four of these diseases jump species from other animals. Many of these diseases are associated with agriculture. Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) led two systematic reviews of disease emergence and burden to help in prioritization. The poster below, prepared for the Tropentag 2014 conference, presents the key findings of the reviews.

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Sustainable intensification?: Implications for the emergence of diseases

This week, ILRI staff are participating in the Tropentag 2014 International Conference in Prague, Czech Republic (17-19 September 2014). There is also a dedicated ILRI@40 side event on livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security and healthy lives.  See all the posters.

 

Managing the health risks associated with agriculture: An overview of research by ILRI

Over 60% of the newly identified infectious diseases that have affected people over the past few decades have been caused by pathogens originating from animals or animal products.

In agricultural areas that use more water, people face increased risk of infectious diseases, especially through zoonotic diseases (diseases transmissible from animals to people) as well as water-borne and vector-borne diseases.

The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) carries out research to maximise the nutritional and health benefits of agricultural development. The programme has four research themes: value chains, biofortification, control of agriculture-associated diseases, and integrated programs and policies.

The poster below, prepared for the Tropentag 2014 conference, presents an overview of a research carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which leads the research theme on the prevention and control of agriculture-associated diseases within A4NH.

This research theme generates evidence on the prevalence, dynamics and burdens of agriculture-associated diseases by developing and testing the tools and approaches needed to better manage such diseases.

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Managing the health risks associated with agriculture: An overview of research by the International Livestock Research Institute

This week, ILRI staff are participating in the Tropentag 2014 International Conference in Prague, Czech Republic (17-19 September 2014). There is also a dedicated ILRI@40 side event on livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security and healthy lives.  See all the posters.