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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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