Building capacity for institutionalizing food safety tracking in African Union member states
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/108293
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Development and validation of a food safety system performance tool for African countries(Presentation, 2022-08-08) Alonso, Silvia; Oliveira, A.R.S.; Mader, R.; Iulietto, M.F.; Dohoo, I.; Thinh Nguyen; Hung Nguyen-Viet; Grace, DeliaObjectives Tools for monitoring the performance of food safety systems can guide countries’ investments on food safety. Available tools, mostly developed in high-income countries, are data-demanding and unsuitable to developing economies. We developed, tested and validated a tool for the assessment of food safety system performance based on secondary data. Materials and methods Conceptualization of the Food Safety System Performance Tool (FSSPT) was based on revision of existing tools and expert consultations to identify relevant indicators. Nine indicators were included in the tool (Figure 1). Secondary data were obtained for African countries, and countries were ranked. The scale and its consistency tool were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and an Item Response Theory (IRT) model was fitted to explore the discriminatory ability of the scale. As a form of validation, we explored the correlation between the ranking generated by the FSSPT, the African Food Safety Index (AFSI) and Human Development Index (HDI) for African countries. Results Cronbach’s alpha was high for the overall scale (0.73). The final IRT model contained a reduced set of four indicators, with self-reporting on food safety and chemical events being the items with the highest discrimination. The FSSPT scale did not correlate with AFSI and showed moderate correlation with HDI. Conclusion Despite the reduced set of indicators working well as a scale, the FSSPT seems to be measuring a more general country development trait rather than food safety. More food safety-specific indicators should be included in the scale.Item Better food safety solutions in Africa: Understanding the complex social, economic and policy perspectives(Presentation, 2022-03-29) Amenu, K.; Alonso, Silvia; Mutua, Florence K.; Roesel, Kristina; Lindahl, Johanna F.; Kowalcyk, B.; Knight-Jones, Theodore J.D.; Grace, DeliaGlobal food safety systems are rapidly changing in response to urbanization and population growth, climate change, trade expansion and social and economic changes; Africa is no exception. The continent is the second in the world after Asia in terms of area and population. The rapidly evolving food systems in Africa pose important food safety challenges. Food processing approaches, traditionally practiced by African societies can be used to effectively to reduce food safety risks (e.g., fermentation when done at small-scale). However, mass production and long-distance transport of foods, which are now common practice, bring new food safety challenges. Food safety along the production to consumption continuum is characterized in the majority of the cases by the involvement of informal actors with sub-optimal food handling practices, creating major impacts on public health and the economy. Generally, the current complexity of food systems makes solutions not always straight forward. Globally, unsafe food causes an estimated 600 million illnesses, and 420,000 deaths and Africa disproportionately bears the highest burden of foodborne diseases. With few exceptions, the issue of food safety has not been given comparable emphasis on the continent and, when it has, the focus is largely on food commodities destined for international market. This presentation covers the major foodborne hazards (microbiological and chemical) in the African context and describes local and continental examples of food safety initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of foodborne disease and improving public health. Specifically, the application of risk-based and One Health approaches to reduce foodborne diseases will be emphasised. Examples of action research and political decision making around food safety at the continental level will be provided. Coordinated and tailored efforts that take into account the complex nature of global and African food safety systems are clearly needed.Item African Food Safety Index: Evaluation and validation(Presentation, 2020-07) Alonso, Silvia; Sintayehu, W.; Getachew, A.; Chunga, W.; Mutua, Florence K.; Amenu, K.; Souza, F. de; Mutuwa, P; Gariba, I.; Zelalem, Y.; Dohoo, I.; Grace, Delia; Ayalew, A.