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Using value chains to leverage food safety in informal markets

Delia Grace, Program Leader Food Safety and Zoonoses, ILRITheme Leader, Agriculture Associated Diseases, CRP A4NH

Nutrition and health outcomes: targets for agricultural researchISPC, Bonn, 23-25th September, 2013

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Country PercentKenya 86Tanzania 95Uganda 90Rwanda 90Ethiopia 95Malawi 95Zambia 90Source, A. Omore, 2006

Percent milk marketed via informal markets in selected countries in the region

Why the informal sector matters

Country Super-markets

Angola 1

Botswana 42

DRC 0

Lesotho 4

Mauritius 12

Malawi 2

Mozambique 3

Namibia 35

Tanzania 5

Seychelles 0

Swaziland 18

Zambia 20

Zimbabwe 124

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4

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Formal sector is not always better and informal is often persisting

Every study finds benefits of informal sector: especially for women and the poor

Hazards are not risks

Raw milk Pasteurised

100%Fail to meet standards

• Generates million of jobs• Raw milk earns more for the farmer

and costs less for the household• Consumers prefer taste and

provenance of local products

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How do risk-based approaches

differ from conventional public

health?

�Look at paths, as well as products

�Solution oriented not problem oriented

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-1

0

1

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3

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5

6

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Waste Disposal Utensils Cleaningregime

Cold storage Personalhygiene

Ingredientstorage

Preparation Selling areahygiene

Hyg

iene

sco

re

Poor quality sweeetsGood or moderate quality sweets

Traditional FS focus on hygiene

Risk-based FS on where things go wrong

What is different between traders who sell safe dairy sweets and those who sell risky sweets?

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Risk mitigation

Average of 17.25 risk mitigation strategies used

Farmers who believed UA was legal used more strategies

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Managing food safety in informal

markets

�Innovations

�Incentives

�Institutions

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Example:

This study showed effective risk mitigation of informally-marketed milk by a traditional food processing

Incidence rate 19.7/1000

If not fermented,303.6/1000

Incentives & institutions

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Agriculture Associated Diseaseshttp://aghealth.wordpress.com/