Potential food safety risks in tomato value chains in urban settings of Eastern Ethiopia: a qualitative investigation

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationAddis Ababa Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationLeibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bio-economyen
cg.contributor.affiliationHaramaya Universityen
cg.contributor.affiliationWorld Vegetable Centeren
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Greenwichen
cg.contributor.crpAgriculture for Nutrition and Health
cg.contributor.donorBill & Melinda Gates Foundationen
cg.contributor.donorForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Kingdomen
cg.contributor.donorFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germanyen
cg.coverage.countryEthiopia
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ET
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierKebede Amenu: 0000-0002-0985-2950en
cg.creator.identifierGetachew Dinede: 0000-0001-9224-9716en
cg.creator.identifierKristina Roesel: 0000-0002-2553-1129en
cg.creator.identifierDelia Grace: 0000-0002-0195-9489en
cg.creator.identifierTheo Knight-Jones: 0000-0003-4342-6055en
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1254000en
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn2571-581Xen
cg.journalFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systemsen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systems
cg.subject.ilriFOOD SAFETYen
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food security
cg.subject.impactPlatformNutrition, Health and Food Security
cg.subject.sdgSDG 2 - Zero hungeren
cg.volume7en
dc.contributor.authorAmenu, Kebedeen
dc.contributor.authorMegersa, B.en
dc.contributor.authorJaleta, M.B.en
dc.contributor.authorDinede, Getachewen
dc.contributor.authorWorku, H.en
dc.contributor.authorKasim, K.en
dc.contributor.authorTaha, M.en
dc.contributor.authorIbrahim, A.M.en
dc.contributor.authorKedir, J.en
dc.contributor.authorMego, Linaen
dc.contributor.authorRoesel, Kristinaen
dc.contributor.authorRoothaert, R.en
dc.contributor.authorSrinivasan, R.en
dc.contributor.authorGrace, Deliaen
dc.contributor.authorKnight-Jones, Theodore J.D.en
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-05T13:11:25Zen
dc.date.available2023-12-05T13:11:25Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/135029
dc.titlePotential food safety risks in tomato value chains in urban settings of Eastern Ethiopia: a qualitative investigationen
dcterms.abstractBackground: The value chains of tomatoes in Ethiopia are largely informal which may pose potential food safety risks. Value chains (VCs) mapping was carried out with emphasis on tomatoes in two major cities in eastern Ethiopia—Harar and Dire Dawa—which were assessed to identify practices likely to result in unsafe food, considering production, transportation, retail, preparation, and consumption. Methods: Qualitative methods were used to map the VCs to understand the flows, actors, and practices. Group discussions and key informant interviews were performed to better understand the processes, practices, beliefs, and food safety risks in these VCs. Results: The two cities are supplied by two vegetable VCs: the first and larger being from distant producers in central Ethiopia, and the second from surrounding rural and peri-urban producers. The long-distance VCs involve producers, brokers, transporters, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. The local producers, however, bring their fresh products directly to the cities without the involvement of VC actors other than final retailers and consumers. The study suggests microbiological contamination risks along tomato VCs, potentially including soil contamination, use of sewerage-contaminated irrigation water, untreated manure, unhygienic handling and storage conditions, and dirty contact surfaces during transportation and retailing. Tomatoes are mostly harvested by hand picking, collected, and sorted on the ground exposing to sunlight and physical bruising with potential contamination. More importantly, tomatoes are widely consumed raw without “a kill-step” that certainly contributes to food-borne infections. Suggestions by study participants for improving food safety and hygiene include funding toward improved infrastructure and facilities in the sectors, supporting VC actors with improved technology for quality production, and increasing awareness of good and hygienic practices. Consumers were particularly concerned about contamination with agrochemicals without much emphasis on the potential microbial contaminants. Fresh tomatoes are prepared in a variety of ways and are often consumed raw or slightly cooked. Further recommendations included using health extension workers to conduct awareness campaigns on improved food safety and hygienic practices. Conclusion: The qualitative VC mapping generated useful information for designing intervention strategies, especially targeting developing food safety interventions and an awareness communication campaign.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.available2023-12-04en
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAmenu, K., Megersa, B., Jaleta, M.B., Dinede, G., Worku, H., Kasim, K., Taha, M., Ibrahim, A.M., Kedir, J., Mego, L., Roesel, K., Roothaert, R., Srinivasan, R., Grace, D. and Knight-Jones, T. 2023. Potential food safety risks in tomato value chains in urban settings of Eastern Ethiopia: a qualitative investigation. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7: 1254000.en
dcterms.extent1254000en
dcterms.issued2023-12-04en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherFrontiers Mediaen
dcterms.subjectfood safetyen
dcterms.subjectvegetablesen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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