Foodborne diseases and food safety in sub-Saharan Africa: Current situation of three representative countries and policy recommendations for the region

Abstract

This article examines the current state of food safety preparedness and response in three representative countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. We focus on foodborne diseases associated with the microbial contamination of animal-sourced foods. The results of our analysis indicate that governments in all three countries have official programmes to limit foodborne diseases and mitigate the effects of outbreaks. However, the population in these three countries continues to experience a high burden of foodborne diseases, and knowledge of the specific causes and mitigation of these diseases in SSA is lacking. Furthermore, there is a need for more and better food safety education programming, as we found no study that has collected a representative sample to estimate the level of public awareness of foodborne pathogens in any of the three countries studied. Evidence also suggests that institutional capacity around food safety in both the public and private sectors is insufficient due to limited financial investment and technical capacity. We end by providing suggestions for improving food safety preparedness and response in the region.

Dairy farmers’ knowledge about milk-borne zoonosis in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

“…In South Africa, there were 978 listeriosis cases reported in 2017/2018, which resulted in more than 30% of fatalities (Boatemaa et al , 2019 ). This was the deadliest listeriosis outbreak compared to other continents (Arias-Granada et al , 2021 ). The outbreak lasted over a year and resulted in the disposal of several processed food items, such as sausage and polony.…”

Contextual interlinkages and authority levels for strengthening coordination of national food safety control systems in Africa

“…However, most sectoral policies, strategies and laws in Africa do not contain measures that can adequately prevent or control food contamination [ 16 , 17 ]. The situation was also observed by the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) which advised that the food safety systems of many countries need to integrate food safety into national and regional policies on health, agriculture, trade, environment, and development [ 18 ].…”

“…It is important to remember that food control is an approach applicable to commercial foods only and many people in Africa live in rural areas producing foods mainly for their own consumption without checks by food safety agencies. In this context, there is low awareness and understanding of food safety matters [ 17 ]. For these communities, education on the importance of food safety smart good agricultural practices (such proper use of pesticides, and selection of safe animal feeds), good handling practices (such as proper storage and drying for cereals) as well as attributes such colour and texture to check prior to food use, are important [ 23 ].…”

“…In all these countries, food safety coordinating boards are composed of representatives of key institutions, including those responsible for agriculture, livestock, fishery, trade, industry, and health. Kenya is another country in Africa with an inter-ministerial board that aims at increasing awareness of food safety and quality and coordinating all food safety activities in the country [ 17 ].…”