Food Safety Matters

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

ON FOOD SAFETY

ORGANISED BY

University of Mauritius Faculty of Agriculture

&

SELAMAT (Safety enhancement of Edible products, Legislation, Analysis and Management, with

AAA countries, by mutual Training & research)

VENUE

LT1, New Academic Complex (NAC), University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius

DATE

16 July 2015

Food Safety Matters

SELAMAT COORDINATORS

Dr Hans Marvin RIKILT Wageningen UR

The Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Associate Professor (Mrs) Daya Goburdhun Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius

Mr Piet Stouten

RIKILT Wageningen UR The Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Food Safety Matters

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Associate Professor (Mrs) Daya Goburdhun (Chairperson)

Associate Professor Arvind Ruggoo

Dr Sunita J Santchurn

Dr Deena Ramful-Baboolall

Mr Shane Hardowar

Dr Hudaa Neetoo

Mr Ally Maherally

Mrs Amreeta Nivault

Mrs Nazmine Jeetoo

SYMPOSIUM WEBSITE

http://sites.uom.ac.mu/isfs2015/

Food Safety Matters

ABOUT SELAMAT

SELAMAT (Safety enhancement of Edible products, Legislation, Analysis and Management, with

AAA countries, by mutual Training & Research) is an international consortium that brings together

stakeholders dealing with food safety from all over the world to share methodology, expertise,

knowledge and policy developments related to food production with emphasis on food safety, food

quality and related issues (www.selamat.net/en/selamat.htm). The SELAMAT network, which was

established in 2004, transcends food safety authorities, ministries, universities, research institutions,

industries and consumers and enables them to work together to optimize resources, integrate

programs and improve food safety and food quality. In addition to food safety and quality,

participating organizations also focus on other related issues such as food security, climate change

and new technology developments. The partners of this network are RIKILT, Institute of Food

Safety, The Netherlands; Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Technológica (IBET), Portugal;

Universiti Putra (UPM), Malaysia, ; Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agriculture

Science(IPP-CAAS), China; Institute for Agri-food Standards and Testing Technology (ASTT),

China; Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS), China; Plant protection research institute

Guangdong academy of agricultural sciences (PPRI-GDAAS), China; Rural Development

Administration (RDA), South Korea; LANAGRO - Laboratório Nacional Agropecuário, Brazil; The

A.N. Bakh Institute of Biochemistry (INBI), Russia; Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius

(UoM), Mauritius, . Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana; Durban University of Technology

(DUT), South Africa; Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Nigeria.. The overall

coordinator of the SELAMAT consortium is Dr. H.J.P. Marvin from RIKILT, The Netherlands.

Food Safety Matters

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

The University of Mauritius (UoM) is the oldest and largest university of the country in terms of

student enrolment and curricula offered (www.uom.ac.mu). With a history of 50 years of excellence

in education, UoM dominates the tertiary education sector of the island. Its mission is “to provide

quality education to students and promote knowledge creation and dissemination through research

and innovative teaching while responding to the developmental needs of the country and the global

community”. The university’s main campus is conveniently located on the Central Plateau of the

island in Réduit, Moka. Originally set up with the School of Agriculture in 1914, it has since

expanded to include six faculties (Agriculture, Engineering, Law & Management, Science, Social

Studies & Humanities, and Ocean Studies). It also has a Centre for Biomedical and Biomaterials

Research, a Centre for Innovative and Lifelong Learning, a Centre for Information Technology and

Systems, and a Consultancy Centre where the university’s expertise can be matched to client needs

in the general economy. The programs and degrees conferred by UoM are recognized worldwide

and maintained to an internationally accepted level. The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of

Mauritius, which has recently become a member of the SELAMAT consortium, celebrated its 100

years of excellence in teaching, research and outreach in 2014. Since the last twenty years, the

Faculty of Agriculture has played a crucial role in capacity building towards enhancing food safety,

quality and technology by providing undergraduate and postgraduate training in the area of food

science and technology in Mauritius. It also undertakes research in food science (food chemistry,

food microbiology and food processing) and food safety and quality. It is noteworthy that the

Faculty of Agriculture additionally engages in outreach and extension activities in food safety as well

as offers specialised short training programmes in line with the evolution in agricultural and food

sectors

Food Safety Matters

PROGRAMME

MORNING SESSION

Chairs : Assoc iate Professor Daya Goburdhun & Dr Teresa Crespo

 08:00 - 09:00 REGISTRATION

09:00 - 09:05 Welcome address by Professor Sunita Facknath, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture

09:05 - 09:15 Address by Professor Romeela Mohee, Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius

09:15 - 09:25 Welcome by Dr Hans Marvin, coordinator of SELAMAT, RIKILT- The Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen, The Netherlands

09:25 - 09:45 Address by Guest Speaker 09:45 - 10:15 Keynote address (Maintaining Food Safety and Quality to ensure Consumer

Safety”, Keynote speaker: Dr Takeuchi Masami, Food Safety Officer, Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome)

10:15 - 10:50 COFFEE BREAK - GROUP PHOTO

10:50 - 11:20 Food safety concerns in Mauritius: Institutional and regulatory framework Associate Professor Daya Goburdhun (University of Mauritius, Mauritius)

11:20 - 11:50 Assessment of mycotoxins in grains and oilseeds most consumed in Ivory Coast. Dr Didier Montet (Chef de l’équipe sureté des aliments/food safety, CIRAD, France)

11:50 - 12:20 Risk assessment in Food Safety Dr Song Weiguo (Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China)

12:20 - 12:50 Immunotechniques in food safety: Advantages, limitations and new solutions Dr Anatoly Zherdev (The A.N. Bakh Institute of Biochemistry INBI, Russia)

12:50 - 13:00 Discussion

13:00 - 14:00 LUNCH

Food Safety Matters

AFTERNOON SESSION

Chairs : Mr. Piet Stouten & Dr. Xingang Liu

14:00 - 14:30 Food Fraud and Early Warning

Dr Hans Marvin (RIKILT- Wageningen UR, Wageningen, the Netherlands)

14:30 - 15:00 Food Safety and International trade Dr Obadina Adewale Olusegun (Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria)

15:00 - 15:30 Major Global Food Safety Concerns: Expert uncertainty and evidence for policy Dr Helen Kendall (University of Newcastle, United Kingdom)

15:30 - 16:00 Discussion and closing remarks

16:00 - 16:10 Vote of thanks

16.10 REFRESHMENTS

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR MASAMI TAKEUCHI

Dr Masami TAKEUCHI

currently serves as the Food Safety

Officer in the Food Safety and Codex

Unit of the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations

(FAO). She obtained her PhD in Food

Science and Human Nutrition from

Washington State University (USA).

After extensive food safety and

behavioral science researches conducted in the USA, Japan and Thailand, she joined FAO in 2006,

where she is primarily involved in the provision of scientific advice on risk assessment of food safety

issues related to new technologies, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, omics and other cross-

cutting issues. She is the manager of the FAO GM Foods Platform (http://fao.org/gm-platform).

From 2006 to 2009, she conducted various capacity development activities in South-East Asia and

Eastern Africa regions. From 2008 to 2011, she co-led FAO’s initiative to develop the Emergency

Prevention System for Food Safety (EMPRES Food Safety) to deal with prevention of food safety

emergencies. She has also represented FAO in the joint FAO/WHO International Food Safety

Authorities Network (INFOSAN)’s management body. She is the author of a number of peer-

reviewed articles and policy documents on food safety at FAO.

Food Safety Matters

MAINTAINING FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY TO ENSURE CONSUMER SAFETY

Takeuchi, M.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Email: masamito@gmail.com

Consumers have the right to expect that the food available on domestic markets is safe and of the

expected quality. FAO works with governmental authorities, with local industry and other relevant

stakeholders to ensure that this expectation is met. In the area of food safety and quality, FAO aims

to assist countries in improving systems of food safety and quality management, based on scientific

principles, that lead to reduced foodborne illness and support fair and transparent trade thereby

contributing to economic development, improved livelihoods and food security. In particular, FAO

helps countries in: (i) strengthening national food control regulatory frameworks, and enhancing

member country participation in Codex Alimentarius, the international standard-setting body on

food safety; (ii) providing independent scientific advice through the Joint FAO/WHO expert bodies

including JECFA (chemicals) and JEMRA (microbiological risks) to support the standard setting

work of Codex; (iii) enhancing food safety management along food chains to prevent diseases and

trade disruptions; (iv) promoting food safety emergency preparedness to build resilient agri-food

chains; and (v) developing online platforms for global networking, databases for information sharing

and tools to support food safety management. FAO’s food safety initiatives coordinate activities in

collaboration with a wide range of national, regional and international stakeholders, according to the

particular problem being addressed, to ensure that holistic and feasible approaches are taken.

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (MRS) DAYA GOBURDHUN

Mrs Daya Goburdhun has been lecturing in the area of food

science and technology for over 25 years. Her research interests are

in food safety, postharvest technology, food composition and

nutrition. Many of her projects have dealt with assessment of

hygiene prevailing in educational institutions, food safety education

and consumer behaviour in food safety. She has co-authored

several publications on the food control system in Mauritius. She is

very keen to disseminate knowledge through organization of

several short courses for the food community. She has also

mounted workshops on topics such as food dehydration and risk

analysis for food safety. She is the Chairperson of the Food and Agricultural Standards Committee

of the Mauritius Standards Bureau, which oversees the development of standards for agricultural

and food products. Daya is a member of the EDES – Food Safety Steering Committee, which is

committed to strengthening the food control system in Mauritius. She currently represents the

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius on the SELAMAT consortium.

Food Safety Matters

FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS IN MAURITIUS: INSTITUTIONAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Goburdhun D.

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius, Mauritius Email: daya@uom.ac.mu

This presentation provides an overview of the food sector and a brief analysis of the institutional

and regulatory framework of food control in Mauritius. Mauritius, a small island state in the Indian

Ocean, has evolved from a low-income, agriculturally based economy (dominated by sugar

production) to an upper middle-income diversified economy. Tourism, manufacturing and services

have emerged as the main pillars of the economy. It is a net food importer while export of

food/agricultural commodities (excluding sugar) is relatively low, though recently it has shown an

increasing trend. Main products exported are fish products to the EU, USA and Japan and tropical

fruits, namely litchi and pineapple to the EU. The local food sector is comprised mainly of small and

medium enterprises, a few large processing plants and a burgeoning informal sector (family

businesses and street food vendors). Changes in consumer lifestyle, income, and food habits have

led to new food safety challenges. An in-depth analysis of food poisoning statistics reveals that most

foods incriminated in food poisoning were fried rice and noodles and the most common setting was

educational institutions. The main bodies involved in food control are the Ministry of Health and

Quality of Life (MoHQL) and the Ministry of Agro-industry and Food Security (MoAFS) and the

main legislation governing food safety is the Food Act (1998) and Food Regulations (1999) of

MoHQL which monitors locally produced and imported foods. The Competent Authority of the

Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries, Shipping and Outer Islands monitors the

safety of seafood produced for export while the National Plant Protection Office (NPPO) is

responsible for the export and import of fresh horticultural products. Inadequacies noted are a

fragmented approach to managing food safety, a lack of communication and coordination within

and between ministries/institutions and insufficient exchange of information, training and advice to

stakeholders and consumers. It is proposed that a coherent national food control strategy, which

clearly defines the role and responsibilities of governmental agencies, and the different actors of this

sector be developed. There should also be a review of legislation to cover the food chain, from farm

to fork.

Keywords: Institutional and regulatory framework, food control, Mauritius

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR DIDIER MONTET

Dr Didier MONTET is currently the leader of a

Food Safety Research Team at CIRAD (Montpellier,

France). He is also the Vice-Chair of the Biotechnology

group at the National French Agency for Food Safety

(Anses). He currently runs a Europe Aid Project in Côte

d'Ivoire and participates in different European projects. Dr

Montet was previously appointed as food expert for the

French Embassy in South-East Asia and was also a

Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand

from 1997 to 1999. Having earned a Ph.D. in Food

Microbiology at the University of Montpellier in 1984, his

main scientific interests are to understand and control contaminants along the food chain as well as

gain a better understanding of the microbial ecology of food and their implications on food safety.

He has a track record of nearly 130 publications in this area.

Food Safety Matters

ASSESSMENT OF MYCOTOXINS IN GRAINS AND OILSEEDS MOST CONSUMED IN IVORY COAST

Montet D.*, Manizan L., Metayer I., Akaki D., Campbell K., Brabet C.

Cirad, UMR 95 Qualisud, TA B-95/16, 73, Montpellier cedex 5, France *Email: didier.montet@cirad.fr

The assessment of mycotoxin formed part of Europe Aid 3C Ivoire project (2011-2014) and was

coordinated by Didier Montet of Cirad, France. The project aimed to assess the safety of main foods

consumed in Ivory Coast by analyzing their content of mycotoxins. Food samples were collected in

Ivory Coast and analyzed (water activity, mycotoxins, counting, isolation and characterization of the

fungal flora) at Cirad. The multi-mycotoxin analysis was conducted at Queen's University Belfast,

UK, by LC-MS/MS. This method was able to quantify 79 mycotoxins (11 regulated by EU, 6

hidden, 62 emerging and other mycotoxins). Rice, groundnut and maize are the most consumed

grains in Ivory Coast, and collected samples were the most commonly sold in markets. 251 samples

were collected from the main markets of Abidjan, Bouaké and Korhogo: 88 rice samples, including

47 local rice and 41 imported rice, 92 corn samples, 39 corn flour with potash and 24 corn flour

without potash, 71 samples of peanut paste. In the case of the regulated mycotoxins, 80 % of 238

samples were contaminated with aflatoxins, 57 % and 50 % exceeding the limits of the EU

regulations, namely 2 µg/kg for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and 4 µg/kg for total aflatoxins (B1 + B2 + G1

+ G2), respectively. All peanut paste samples were contaminated with AFB1 with 99 % having levels

above EU limits ranging from 2.9 to 4535 µg/kg (AFB1) and 4.7 to 8094 µg/kg (AFT). Corn

samples (97 %) and rice (57 %) were contaminated with AFB1 with 62 % and 23 % beyond the

limits of the EU, respectively, ranging from 2.0 to 80.4 µg/kg for maize and 2.0 to 14.1 µg/kg for

rice. Only 2 % of 238 samples had levels of ochratoxin A (OTA) exceeding the EU limits (3 µg/kg):

3 rice samples ranged from 7.3 to 15 µg/kg and corn sample (7.5 µg/kg). Fumonisin and

zearalenone were present in respectively 72 and 6 samples of maize, and in 16 and 5 rice samples but

at levels below the EU limits. The 238 samples were also contaminated with other mycotoxins

namely beauvericin, equisetin, citrinin, fusaric acid, cyclopiazonic acid, and diacetoxyscripenol

sterigmatocystin depending on the sample. The study highlighted that the peanut paste constituted

the biggest risk for Ivorian consumers.

Keywords: mycotoxins, grains, oilseeds, Ivory Coast, HPLC-MS/MS

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR SONG WEI-GUO

Dr Song WEI-GUO is currently the Deputy Director

of the Institute of Agro-food Standards and Testing

Technologies at Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences

(ASTT/SAAS). His research interests are on pesticide risk

assessment methods and chemical residue transport in the

environment, with special emphasis on exposure assessment

and dose-response models for assessing safety of pesticides

in food. He has concurrently been studying the

environmental behaviors of hazardous substances such as

organophosphate, avermectins and strobilurins pesticides

that are widely used in China and are known to be a threat

to public health and environmental safety. In addition, Dr Wei-guo has interest in the development

of new testing technologies for detection of pesticide residues, which have important applications

for food monitoring in Shanghai or other cities around China. Dr Wei-guo also serves as technical

advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture, PRC and Shanghai FDA in matters of food safety.

Food Safety Matters

APPLICATION OF CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENT FROM FARM TO TABLE TO ENSURE

FOOD SECURITY AND SAFETY

Weiguo S. Institute of agro-food standard and testing technology, Shanghai Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Shangai

Email: sunvego@aliyun.com Risk assessment is the nuclear part of risk analysis, and consists of hazard identification, hazard

characteristics (dose response assessment), exposure assessment, and risk characteristics. Before

production, risk assessment can be used to predict the risk index of the hazard and screen for the

safe or high potential chemicals whose application can be permitted in agriculture. A study of

pesticide screening and pre-alarming technology will be introduced based on the risk assessment.

Subsequently, total dietary risk assessment can be conducted to establish the tolerances of chemicals

in food by quantitative point-assessment. For example, forchlorfenuron maximum residue limits

(MRLs) were established in watermelons based on the field residue study. Once a food is put on the

market, supervision data of residues from market samples are regularly obtained. Thus, the

probabilistic risk assessment can be used to monitor the residues in food and eventually to get a

whole-scale understanding of the safety level of the markets. An example such as the carbendazim

risk assessment in fruits will be introduced accordingly.

Keywords: pesticide safety, risk screening, point-assessment, probabilistic assessment, fruits

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR ANATOLY ZHERDEV

Dr Anatoly ZHERDEV is a leading researcher at the Institute of

Biochemistry at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also an expert

working for the Russian National Centre of Biotechnology, Agriculture

and Food. His research is concerned with immunoanalytical detection

methods for food quality and safety control. He is the author of about

130 peer-reviewed publications on immunodetection of pesticides,

mycotoxins, antibiotics and other hazardous compounds. His laudable

work in developing large-scale manufacturing of (rapid) test strips for on-

site analyses in Russia earned him an award by the Russian government in 2010. He also participated

in several international projects covering different aspects of food-related risks.

Food Safety Matters

IMMUNOTECHNIQUES IN FOOD SAFETY: ADVANTAGES, LIMITATIONS AND NEW SOLUTIONS

Zherdev A.

Institute of Biochemistry, Russian Acad. Sci., Moscow, Russia Email: zherdev@inbi.ras.ru

Practical application of immunoassays in food safety control is traditionally considered based on

their opposition to other analytical techniques, such as chromatography, microbiological methods

etc. Immunochemical test-systems have clear fundamental advantages: (i) selectivity provided by

immune recognition, (ii) possibility to reach extremely low limits of detection by the use of various

markers and amplification systems, and (iii) simplicity of handling procedures. However, despite

these advantages, immune-analytical techniques, in the first approximation, occupy a niche of pre-

screening testing, which then need to be confirmed by alternative analytical techniques. This

presentation will characterize the factors that prevent wider use of immunoassay methods as well as

possibilities to overcome these limitations by the practical application of new developments. Specific

features of toxic contaminants control, especially of such important groups as mycotoxins,

veterinary drugs, and also features of the use of immunodetection for food testing will be

considered. Molecular background of immunoassay selectivity will be considered with special

attention to possibilities of class-specific detection of structurally related compounds, their

derivatives and metabolites. Examples of directed design of immunoanalytical systems for

modulation of their selectivity will be presented. Antibodies as recognising elements of test systems

will be compared with alternative receptors such as aptamers, molecular imprinted polymers etc.

Systems for signal enhancement will be considered as means of increasing the immunoassay

sensitivity. Different nanodisperse markers will be compared as markers for rapid detection of

immune complexes. New decisions will be presented to improve the information capacity of

immunoassay systems, including multiparametric tests, semi-quantitative and quantitative rapid tests.

Trends in the transformation of immunochemical test-systems will be illustrated by examples from

the R&D practice of the Institute of Biochemistry. Finally, the current state in the introduction to

practice of new immunoassays and prospects for expanding their application will be considered.

Key words: toxic contaminants, ELISA, immunochromatography, rapid tests, selectivity of immune recognition, nanodispersed labels, enhancement of assay sensitivity, multiparametric assays

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR HANS J.P. MARVIN

Dr Hans MARVIN is a senior scientist at

RIKILT Wageningen UR, the Netherlands.

RIKILT is specialized in many aspects of food

safety, including analysis of foods, research on

safety, and risk assessments for authorities.

Dr. Marvin works on a number of food safety

issues, including emerging risks, food/ feed issues

related to biotechnology & nanotechnology and risk

analysis and has initiated various activities within

the Netherlands and EU in these fields. Dr Marvin

has coordinated various large international

multidisciplinary projects on various food safety topics, such as the EU projects SAFE FOODS (e.g.

risk analysis), SELAMAT (e.g. international collaboration on food safety), GO-GLOBAL (e.g.

emerging food safety risks) and is currently coordinating Collab4Safety (e.g. promoting international

collaboration on food safety) and NanoDefine (e.g. development of methods to analyze

nanoparticles in complex matrices). Dr Marvin’s personal research interests relate to (i) methods for

emerging risk identification, (ii) effect of drivers (among others climate change) on food safety, (iii)

safety of engineered nanoparticles including stakeholders analysis (among others consumer

perception), and (iv) the development of decision support systems. He has organized and chaired

numerous workshops and is author and co-author of many publications on food safety.

Food Safety Matters

FOOD FRAUD AND EARLY WARNING

Marvin H.* & Bouzembrak Y. RIKILT Wageningen UR, Netherlands

*Email: hans.marvin@wur.nl Food fraud is defined as the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, or misrepresentation of

food, food ingredient or packaging; or misleading claims of a food product in order to achieve an

economic gain. The scale of food fraud is high; for example, in the United Kingdom, food fraud is

estimated to range up to 10 % of its trade (15bn € a year). The consequence of food fraud is a

decrease in quality of the product that has been manipulated and consumption of this product may

cause health problems or even deaths. A typical example of a food adulteration incident was the

contamination of powdered infant milk with melamine occurring in China in 2008. It is evident that

efforts need to be undertaken to develop methods to detect and/or predict the presence of food

fraud risks. In the framework of the EU FP7 project “Food Integrity”, RIKILT Wageningen UR is

developing early warning and prediction systems to identify a food fraud at an early stage. As a first

step, we analysed the data of two food fraud databases namely, the EU database “Rapid Alert

System for Food and Feed (RASFF)” and the US database “Economically Motivated Adulteration

(EMA)”. It was observed that in both databases, there is an increasing trend in the number of food

fraud incidents. Meat and meat products as well as fish and fish products are among the top 3 food

categories with the highest number of reports. Based on the data present in RASFF, a probabilistic

model, using Bayesian Network (BN) technology, was developed to predict the type of adulteration/

fraud notifications as reported in RASFF. The model predicted more than 80 % of food fraud types

correctly when the country of origin and food category had been reported previously in RASFF.

Publications on food fraud in the media may also be useful in early warning of food fraud risks. To

this end, we have adapted the Europe Media Monitor (EMM), which has been developed by the

Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. EMM is a text mining based system that

gathers reports from news portals world-wide in 43 languages, classifies the articles, analyses the

news texts, aggregates the information and issues alerts. A food fraud EMM filter has thus been

designed to collect food fraud reports using large sets of dedicated key words in 8 different

languages. The efficiency and precision of this new filter is now being evaluated.

Keywords: Food fraud, early warning and prediction systems, probabilistic model, food fraud media filter

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR ADEWALE OLUSEGUN OBADINA

 

Dr Adewale OBADINA is a lecturer

and researcher in the Department of Food

Science and Technology at the Federal

University of Agriculture (Abeokuta,

Nigeria). He is a grantee and Research

Associateship Fellow of The World

Academy of Sciences (TWAS) with research

interest on Food Safety and Quality.  Dr. Obadina was a visiting scholar for an

EU Erasmus Mundus MSc programme at

Katholie University (Belgium) and Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland) to teach courses on

Food Safety and Food Nutrition. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Food

Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg (South Africa) under the DAAD

Academic Exchange Programme to teach and carry out research on food safety. Dr. Obadina has

been involved as a facilitator in different Food Safety short courses within Nigeria. He has played an

integral role in various collaborative projects sponsored by international donors such as DFID, EU,

Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, Africa-Brazil Innovation, The World Academy of Science

(TWAS) and My Community, Our Earth (MyCOE). He is a member of the Global Food Safety

Partnership (GFSP) on curricula sponsored by World Bank and run by International Union of Food

Science and Technology (IUFoST). He is a member of the Food Science Advisory Council, Human

Health Organization (HHO). He has worked in various food research laboratories, in and outside

Nigeria. In all of his professional endeavours, he strives to disseminate knowledge and promote

development through innovation and scientific research.  

 

 

 

 

 

Food Safety Matters

STATUS OF FOOD SAFETY IN WEST AFRICA

Obadina A.O. Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Email: obadinaw@gmail.com

In a region where food insecurity, political instability, communicable diseases, natural disasters and

other major concerns dominate government agendas and the news media, the importance of food

safety is often not well understood. However, food safety is of critical importance to Africa because

of its aggravating impact over the above listed concerns. The results of a recent survey on food

safety status in West Africa were presented, observing important needs across the spectrum of food

safety activities. Visits to some of the various processing, market and chopping outlets were made

together with a search of electronic databases for national surveys and debates carried out on food

safety status in West Africa countries from 2000 to date. It was observed that there is need for more

to be done in the following areas: national food safety policy, improvement in food inspection

mechanisms, improving laboratory capacity and support service, surveillance with education and

outreach on food safety hazards. The concerns over food safety have also been compounded by the

increasing urbanisation trend, which can lead to stresses on the emerging urban infrastructure.

Livelihoods and consumer health, particularly the urban poor and the youths, may be at risk if

concerns over food safety are not addressed. Unfortunately, the food safety systems, in most

countries within the region, are generally weak, fragmented and not well coordinated; and thus are

not effective enough to adequately protect the health of consumers and to enhance the

competitiveness of food exports. It is, however, recognized that improving food safety systems has

many short and long-term costs and can be a challenging process for many countries to undertake.

Although the situation in every country is affected by the particular country conditions, some

common principles and components of an effective food safety system are generally needed in each

country. Considering national food production systems, it is recommended that a food safety

management systems approach should be adopted, for example hazard analysis and critical control

point (HACCP) and as part of this, Good Agricultural Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice.

This should be considered important to identify the main food safety hazards, where they occur in

the food production and marketing chain and their potential risk to consumer health.

Keywords: West Africa, Nigeria, Food Safety Management, HACCP, Trade

 

Food Safety Matters

BIOGRAPHY OF DR HELEN KENDALL

 Dr Helen KENDALL is the current recipient of the Viscount

Runicman Research Fellowship within the Food and Society Group

at Newcastle University (UK) headed by Professor Lynn Fewer. Her

research expertise lies in understanding consumer behaviour in

relation to food. Areas of research interest are broadly concerned

with food social science and translational food policy research and

include research in the following areas; microbiological food-safety,

food fraud and authenticity, consumer acceptance of novel

technology, and attitudes towards risk. As an interdisciplinary, mixed

methods researcher she has particular interest in exploring the use of qualitative and quantitative

methodologies to understand attitudes and behaviours related to food. In addition she has

experience in understanding and measuring societal and individual responses to risks and benefits

associated with food and stakeholder analysis and scientific foresight regarding research agenda

setting, policy and governance in the area of emerging food technologies, and food and agricultural

policy issues. Her most recent research work has sparked an interest in understanding consumer

behaviour in relation to food in a South East Asian context.

Food Safety Matters

MAJOR GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS: EXPERT UNCERTAINTY AND EVIDENCE FOR POLICY

Kendall H.*, Frewer, L.J., & Stewart, G. Food and Society group, Newcastle University, UK.

*Email: helen.kendall@newcastle.ca.uk

Early identification of emerging food risks will protect human and animal health, the environment

and economy. Gaps in knowledge, research priorities and evidence required for policy development

therefore need to be identified in order to prioritise resource allocation with regard to food safety

risks. The results of two international foresight studies, run through the GoGlobal and

Collab4Safety projects, are presented. The first study focused on identification of key drivers of

emerging food risks. The second focused on expert uncertainties regarding these drivers. In both

studies, a two round Delphi survey identified international experts’ views regarding knowledge gaps

associated with the identification and mitigation of emerging food risks, and barriers to emerging

risk identification and prevention. The results of the initial study suggested that keeping emerging

food risk on research agendas, data sharing, and international harmonisation regarding application of

predictive methodologies were priorities. Capacity and capability building were required in less

affluent countries. However, the second study indicated that, while experts agreed on the

importance of food risk drivers, and their relation to emerging food risks, there was considerable

variability in the extent to which they were certain in their opinions regarding different food risk

drivers, the risks themselves and the need for specific policy responses. Expert certainty in Europe

was more consistent than that self-reported in other parts of the world. It is concluded that expert

judgement in the area of food risk may be based on uncertainties regarding expert opinions, and that

such uncertainties need to be considered as part of the process of developing evidence to support

policy in the area of emerging food risks.

Keywords: emerging food risks, international foresight studies, key drivers, expert uncertainties  

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