Challenges of sanitary compliance related to trade in products of animal origin in Southern Africa

Abstract

Irrespective of the existence of potentially pathogenic organisms carried by animals, foods of animal origin remain the prime nutrition of humans world-wide. As such, food safety continues to be a global concern primarily to safeguard public health and to promote international trade. Application of integrated risk-based quality assurance procedures on-farm and at slaughterhouses plays a crucial role in controlling hazards associated with foods of animal origin. In the present paper we examine safety assurance systems and associated value chains for foods of animal origin based on historical audit results of some Southern African countries with thriving export trade in animal products, mainly to identify areas for improvement. Among the key deficiencies identified were: i) failure to keep pace with scientific advances related to the ever-changing food supply chain; ii) lack of effective national and regional intervention strategies to curtail pathogen transmission and evolution, notably the zoonotic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli; and iii) a lack of effective methods to reduce contamination of foods of wildlife origin. The introduction of foods of wildlife origin for domestic consumption and export markets seriously compounds already existing conflicts in legislation governing food supply and safety. This analysis identifies gaps required to improve the safety of foods of wildlife origin.

A review of Listeria monocytogenes from meat and meat products: Epidemiology, virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance and diagnosis

“…The responsibility of ensuring meat safety is shared by two main national departments, namely the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) and the Department of Health (DoH). The DAFF exercises authority over farms, feedlots and abattoirs and is mandated to administer the Animal Diseases Act, Act 35 of 1984 and the Meat Safety Act, Act 40 of 2000 (Magwedere, Songabe & Dziva 2015 ). As soon as the meat leaves the abattoir supervision of distribution, retail and marketing falls in the hands of the DoH, which is entrusted with the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act ( FCDA ), Act 54 of 1972 ( as amended by Act 39 of 2007 ).…”

“…The FCDA forbids selling, manufacturing or importing for sale, any foodstuff that is contaminated, tainted or decayed or is in terms of any regulation deemed to be, detrimental to human health. However, these regulations are salient on microbiological criterion for L. monocytogenes in meat (Magwedere et al 2015 ). The only microbiological criterion available for testing of meat in SA is the South Africa National Standard (SANS): 885:2011, which is non-mandatory and allows a maximum of 100 cfu/g for L. monocytogenes in RTE processed meat products.…”

Achieving an Integrated Approach to Food Safety and Hygiene—Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Across Africa, there are a range of public health laboratories which should be able to support food safety services. However, evaluations of these laboratories, including those in Malawi, have shown substandard performance for the isolation of enteric diseases [53,54]. This limitation has been recognised by the AU through their proposal to develop a network of reference laboratories across the continent providing quality assured services, although this system is not yet in place [9].…”

Significance of the level of implementation of food legislation and the food safety management system in Ukraine for the dynamics of the spread of food poisoning (retro analysis)

“…Industry can benefit from the implementation of HACCP such as reduced waste, prevention of food poisoning, increased consumer confidence and complaints, and legal compliance. The HACCP system is gaining recognition and is now considered as a prerequisite for food manufacturers and a growing number of countries whose legislation requires the implementation of the system [5,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”