Food safety: Africa’s public health priority

Lazarus Sauti

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for Africa says unsafe food is linked to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people annually and the African region is not an exception.

She added that infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with an underlying illness are particularly vulnerable.

Dr Moeti also explained that food contaminated by harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances can lead to a wide range of health problems.

“Contaminated food is responsible for more than 200 diseases, including typhoid fever, diarrhoea and cancers, among others,” she asserted.

According to the World Health Organisation food can become contaminated at any point of production and distribution.

“This food poses major economic risks as it impedes socio-economic progress by straining health care systems as well as harming national economies, tourism plus trade,” added the World Health Organisation.

Dr Margaret Chan, the World Health Organisation’s Director-General, thus, believes that there is an urgent need for all food handlers and consumers to understand the importance of adopting basic hygiene practices when buying, selling and preparing food to protect their health and that of the wider community.

She noted, “Governments should make food safety a public health priority, as they play a pivotal role in developing policies and regulatory frameworks, establishing and implementing effective food safety systems that ensure that food producers and suppliers along the whole food chain operate responsibly and supply safe food to consumers.”

Also, Dr Moeti strongly believes that African governments should secure the effective management of food businesses operated by women as they are also key players in the food safety matrix.

“In Africa, women who primarily prepare food at home are key participants in small and medium sized enterprises, as owners, managers and workers in food businesses such as cafes, restaurants, small manufacturers and street vendors.

“Improving the safety of food and securing the effective management of businesses operated by women is, therefore, a key concern in public health for the economic, social status and overall standing of women in their respective communities,” she confirmed.

Further, African countries must assess the safety of new technologies used in food production, such as genetic modification and nanotechnology.

Dr Moeti also encouraged government sectors on the continent to prioritise food safety.

“Governments must align policies in agriculture, trade, health, education, social protection and mobilise adequate financial resources to make food safe for all.

“Setting food guidelines in line with codex standards, operating regional alert mechanisms and early warning systems as well as building and maintaining adequate food systems and infrastructures will contribute enormously towards improving food safety,” she affixed.

The World Health Organisation added, “There is also need for co-ordinated, cross-border action across the entire food supply chain since efforts to prevent such emergencies can be strengthened via development of robust food safety systems that drive collective government and public action to safeguard against chemical or microbial contamination of food.”

In a journal article titled “Sanitary Conditions of Food Vending Sites and Food Handling Practices of Street Food Vendors in Benin City, Nigeria: Implication for Food Hygiene and Safety”, published in 2014, authors Paul W. Okojie and Essy Clementina Isah said that food handlers and consumers should know the food they use (read labels on food packages, make an informed choice, and become familiar with common food hazards) over and above handling as well as preparing food safely.

On the way to realise an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven and managed by its own citizens, Okojie and Isah also noted that food consumers need to be food safety conscious.

“To fight diseases, food handlers and consumers in Africa should practice safe food sanitation and learning how to take care when cooking specific foods that may be hazardous, such as raw chicken, to reading the labels when buying and preparing food,” they declared.

Dr Moeti is also of the same view.

“There is a pressing need for all food handlers to understand and practice safe food hygiene so as to protect the health and well-being of citizens,” she added.

More so, to secure the interests of Africa’s future generations, Dr Kazuaki Miyagishima, Director of World Health Organisation’s Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, says a sustainable response is needed.

“The response should ensure that standards, checks and networks are in place to protect citizens against food safety risks,” noted Dr Miyagishima.

Frankly, food safety is a cross-cutting issue that requires the support of major regional as well as international agencies and organisations active in the fields of food, emergency aid and education.

As a result, the African Union and its member-states must prioritise establishing greater coordination both among health stakeholders as well as with other related sectors in the food industry to work all along the food production chain so as to spur social and economic transformation on the continent.