23 minute read
News Updates
LABORATORY, CALIBRATION & TESTING
Zimbabwe boosts antimicrobial resistance surveillance capacity
ZIMBABWE – At least 14 laboratories in Zimbabwe have been equipped to provide antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance data thanks to financing from the Fleming Fund, a UK aid programme that helps countries fight AMR. Five of these are devoted to veterinary research, seven to human health, one to food, and one to the environment. The Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have helped the Government of Zimbabwe increase awareness and comprehension of the features of antimicrobial use in the agriculture sector and their impact on the environment and humans using the One Health concept. WHO also recently educated 60 training of trainers (ToTs) from various ministries on the WHONET software, a crucial data tool created for the management and analysis of microbiology laboratory data. The technology is essential for increasing collaborations and data sharing at the national (District Health Information System 2), regional, and international levels as well as for improving the utilization of surveillance data for local requirements.
MOROCCO – Morocco has earned the certificate of admission for the Moroccan organic standard “Bio-Maroc”, as evidence of its compliance with the IFOAM – Organics International (OI) criteria. The accreditation was granted following a “comprehensive” evaluation of Morocco’s “Bio-Maroc” national organic standards in conformity to the Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS), claims the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture. The COROS contains requirements that have been found common across many private and government organic standards. Standards can be compared to this reference in an equivalence exercise, which will highlight their strengths and weaknesses as compared to the international reference. According to the statement from the ministry, Morocco gains credibility abroad as a result of acquiring this certificate because it conforms with IFOAM-IO requirements.
MERGERS
FoodLogiQ ties up with ESHA Research creating a formidable force in traceability
U.S – FoodLogiQ, the top SaaS provider of solutions for supply chain transparency, food safety, and traceability, has announced a strategic merger with ESHA Research, a world leader in nutrition analysis and regulatory-compliant labeling software and services. The combination of FoodLogiQ and ESHA will give the food industry an unmatched ability to extend product development and nutritional analysis into supplier compliance, improved traceability, and automated recall management. This is due to the increased emphasis on digitizing the supply chain to improve food safety and transparency. “FoodLogiQ broadens the ESHA platform and expands the universe of potential product extensions and add-on acquisitions that will be attractive to the combined company. “We will continue to invest meaningfully in product innovation, sales and marketing, and customer support, while closely evaluating complementary add-ons to strengthen the company,” said Riverside Senior Partner Brian Sauer. The Riverside Company, a global private investor with a concentration on the smaller end of the middle market, contributed funding for the purchase.
LABORATORY, CALIBRATION & TESTING
South Africa launches National Biosecurity Hub to combat diseases
UGANDA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has opened its second food safety laboratory in Mbale City to provide Conformity Assessment and Quality Assurance of products manufactured in Eastern Uganda. This comes following the commissioning of the first laboratory in Gulu City in July 2022, to serve Northern Uganda, as part of the Bureau’s Strategic Plan to decentralize quality infrastructure and other standardization services to other parts of the Country. Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) and the Danish Government have thus far furnished the UNBS Regional Testing Laboratories with equipment worth US$4,455,283. Earlier in March, TMEA boosted UNBS’ regional offices in Mbarara, Gulu, and Mbale with equipment worth US$1,885,280. To improve the quality and safety of their products, Mr. David Livingstone Ebiru, the Executive Director of UNBS, asked all businesses engaged in production, processing, and value addition to make use of the decentralized quality infrastructure by obtaining certification services (Q-Mark) from UNBS before releasing them onto the market. In the near future, the regulator plans to establish a laboratory in the Western Region.
DISEASES, OUTBREAKS & RECALLS
SOUTH AFRICA – To aid in the prevention and control of agricultural and animal diseases in South Africa, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has established the National Biosecurity Hub at the University of Pretoria’s (UP’s) Future Africa campus. Professor Sanil Maharaj, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and Information Technology stated at the hub’s opening that the hub would draw from top research from international institutions and contribute to improving market access, economic growth, and job creation in the nation. This will be through improved national sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity and increased awareness of current and emerging biosecurity threats.
He continued by saying that the hub will make sure that South Africa was better equipped to handle disease outbreaks because it would be able to make choices more quickly and effectively. The National Biosecurity Hub’s mission is to greatly expand the capabilities now available to the South African SPS regulatory bodies and to be relevant across all agriculture and forestry industries. To meet SPS requirements of international trade and improve biosecurity, it will offer research and information services to the public and private sectors.
Naturo improves Haelen milk processing technique allowing dairy-sensitive people to indulge
AUSTRALIA – The Australian company Naturo has improved its Haelen milk process, which created a 60-day shelf life – to now have double the digestibility. Since the Haelen process destroys more bacteria than conventional pasteurization, it is easier for people who have dairy sensitivity to ingest. Naturo handles the whey proteins in milk differently since it doesn’t employ the high heat associated with conventional milk processing like pasteurization, ultrahigh-temperature (UHT), and Extended shelf-life (ESL). This method breaks down the proteins further than the standard, allowing for easier and faster digestion and enhanced nutrient absorption. “This latest digestibility finding is a market breakthrough for our Haelen Technology partnerships and licensing agreements worldwide as well as opening the door to new products and market opportunities,” says Jeff Hastings, Founder and CEO of Haelen.
GLOBAL – The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030, which was approved by Member States during the 75th World Health Assembly Session through Resolution WHA75 (22). The launch represents a significant accomplishment in WHO’s efforts to advance health, ensure global security, and protect the vulnerable. The goal of the Global Food Safety Strategy is to support Member States in their efforts to prioritize, plan, implement, monitor, and regularly evaluate actions aimed at reducing the burden of foodborne diseases (FBD) by fostering international cooperation and continuously improving food safety systems. It addresses new and developing issues, takes advantage of modern technology, and proposes creative methods for enhancing food safety systems.
The policy also establishes specific goals and intends to reduce the incidence of foodborne diarrheal illnesses, which mostly affects children under the age of five and other vulnerable populations, by 40%. It further aims to have 100% operational coordination systems to handle foodborne incidents and improved laboratory capacity for foodborne illness surveillance.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
AFRICA – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have together unveiled the first SADC Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS), a platform to generate agricultural data for the region’s evidence-based decisionmaking. For policy makers, the lack of trustworthy and consistent data in the agricultural sector in Southern Africa has always been a hindrance. This has led to significant delays in the planning and execution of regional responses that are well-coordinated and designed to address threats like transboundary pests and diseases like the Fall Armyworm and Foot and Mouth Disease, which have a negative impact on productivity and trade in the region. To address this, the European Unionfunded STOSAR project, “Support Towards Operationalization of the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy”, developed the AIMS platform (EU). “The SADC AIMS is an integrated and multilingual system providing policy makers with access to reliable and timely data on which to base policies, resource allocations, and emergency interventions. “This web-based application will provide SADC Member States with standardized instruments necessary to produce and disseminate comparable statistical information to inform SADC policies,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa. The SADC AIMS platform is a webbased application with 12 modules for collecting, storing, and analyzing agricultural information.
Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Study reveals high Brucella contamination in Tunisia’s raw dairy products
TUNISIA – A study has revealed a high rate of Brucella contamination in dairy products in Tunisia, shortly after another study conducted in Kenya discovered a cocktail of micro-organisms in milk. The study investigated the occurrence of Brucella in 200 raw milk, ricotta, and artisan fresh cheese samples, collected from four districts in Tunisia. Brucellosis is a significant public health threat for urban and rural populations of endemic countries, particularly the Middle East and North Africa region, as the trade of unpasteurized milk and raw dairy products is widespread, says the study. Samples were purchased from 75 retail marketing points for dairy products from March to November 2019. According to the study published in the journal Foods, forty samples of cow’s raw milk, 102 of artisanal fresh cheese, and 58 of ricotta were collected. Out of the 200 samples, Brucella was spotted in 150 (75%) with Brucella abortus being found in 47 (31.3%) samples, and Brucella melitensis in eight (5.3%). Almost half of the tested products had both species, while 21 (14%) were neither Brucella abortus nor melitensis. The detection of both B. abortus and B. melitensis highlights that zoonotic high-pathogen agent control remains a challenge for food safety and consumer
health protection, and could represent a serious emerging foodborne disease in Tunisia.
U.S – The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended an amendment to the requirements for using ‘healthy’ labels on food packaging, to be consistent with present nutrition science, the Nutrition Facts label, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The proposed rule intends to more accurately take into account how nutrients from different food groups interact and contribute to the formation of healthy dietary patterns and improvements in health. Under the prospective new rule, food products advertised as ’healthy‘ would need to contain a ‘meaningful‘ amount of food from one of the food groups or subgroups suggested by Dietary Guidelines. Among these food groups and subgroups are fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Furthermore, items would have to adhere to strict guidelines for certain nutrients like sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. The new proposal is a component of the FDA’s ongoing efforts to enhance dietary habits and nutrition in the U.S.
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Study demonstrates potential of x-ray technology in agricultural sector
INDIA – A study led by a team of researchers from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology (EZRT), has demonstrated the potential of X-ray radiography for a rapid and nondestructive determination of key marketrelated traits from X-ray scans of peanuts while still inside the hull. Consequently, the evaluation process for peanut pods is now quicker and easier to complete. A single specialist can now complete the task, which took three to five expert professionals 30 minutes, in just two minutes. Thus, it is possible to accurately and quickly assess peanut pods for crucial market-related traits like kernel weight or shelling percentage using an X-ray scan of intact, unshelled peanut pods, say the researchers. “ICRISAT crop researchers pointed to the important gaps frequently restraining the Indian farmers from reaping the benefits of their hard labor, and researchers from rapid breeding of improved crops. The collaboration helped us to adapt our technology so that the gaps can be closed,” Dr. Stefan Gerth, Head of Department, EZRT said.
TRADE, EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Kenya, Zambia in bid to resolve more than decadelong non-tariff trade barriers
KENYA – Kenya and Zambia are at the brink of signing a memorandum of understanding to end the long-simmering trade dispute that saw Zambia ban the export of Kenyan milk more than a decade ago. Although Kenya has enough standards for a variety of industries, according to KEBS Director General Bernard Njiraini, harmonizing the standards to include other nations will ensure that Kenya’s dairy products are available in other markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Zambia, one of the top markets for Kenyan milk, banned the export of Kenyan milk over safety concerns after processors in the Southern African country claimed that milk imports exceeded the country’s total bacteria count. Zambia’s standard allows a total bacteria count (TBC) of 200,000 while Kenya’s follows the international benchmark of one million TBC per millilitre. “Now we are moving to another level of having harmonized standards across Africa so that people from Zambia can access our milk because sometimes we have disparities in terms of their thresholds in the counts and what we have,” said Njiraini.
REGULATORY & POLICY
UK to revise 20-year-long Bread and Flour Regulations
UK – The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a 12-week public consultation on revising the 1998 Bread and Flour Regulations and called on consumers, millers and bakers, retailers, and regulators from all four nations of the UK to contribute. Defra launched the consultation on September 1 together with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), Food Standards Scotland (FSS), and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Wales and Northern Ireland (NI). The purpose of the consultation is to gather feedback on suggestions for modifying the nutrients currently added to non-wholemeal wheat flour and the addition of folic acid to improve public health outcomes for the people of Scotland and the rest of the UK. “This consultation marks an important stage in the process of ensuring that the regulations covering bread and flour in Scotland, and the rest of the UK, are fit for purpose and, critically, support public health,” said Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive Officer at FSS. The FSA has announced that the public consultation will end on November 23, 2022, and that a summary of the replies will be published in the months that follow.
Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive Officer at FSS
Lack of oversight impedes food fraud regulation in Africa - report
ISRAEL – A study titled “Food fraud amid COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: A challenge of the present” has intimated that lack of oversight and a wide range of informal markets have made it challenging to regulate food fraud in SubSaharan Africa (SSA). The study led by Dr. Helen Onyeaka, Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, states that the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact the possibility of many food fraud risks.
“In a COVID-19 pandemic era where the issue of food security has taken center stage, toxic rice and grains, gamalinpoisoned fish (as a result of killing fish by poisoning water with gamalin), formaldehyde-treated fish, formalintreated meat, and fake Coca-Cola have been on the menu for millions of victims of food fraud in SSA,” the study reads. The article continues by stating that the emergence of COVID-19 caused the focus given to food fraud in SSA to lessen as the priority became improving health systems. As stated by the study, so many policies and standards exist across countries in SSA, however, implementation has been failing. “With the pandemic still largely at hand, it is imperative to mandate and tighten checks at entry points, borders, hotels, formal and informal food vendors, shops, and abattoirs. Also, healthseeking habits should be embedded in the consumers through adequate sensitization, in both rural and urban areas,” reads the article.
Egerton University researchers reveal contamination in most Nakuru meat
KENYA – Barely a year after the United Kingdom-based World Animal Protection revealed the contamination of meat stocked in outlets across the country, Egerton University researchers have also unearthed a similar finding in Nakuru county. The study which evaluated the microbiological safety of meat and readyto-eat (RTE) meat products in urban and peri-urban parts of the county, indicates that the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella spp and Shigella bacteria is worrying and efforts have to be put in place to cut on their levels.
In 87 samples of beef, goat, and other meat products, Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent negative bacterium with a prevalence of 100%, followed by Shigella spp. in 81 samples (93 percent). All 15 samples of water that were randomly obtained from the butcheries and eateries tested positive for E. coli, salmonella spp., and Shigella bacteria, according to the report written by principal investigators Dr. Hillary Odeckh Indago, Prof. Joseph Wafula Matofari, and Dr. John Masani Nduko. “These results indicate a public health risk for consumers of RTE meat products in Nakuru County,” the report stated. “The presence of these bacteria points a direct finger to bad handling and poor hygiene practices because they indicate that the products have been in contact with faecal matter.”
FORTIFICATION
Consumers in Kenya to gain access to variety of fortified foods
KENYA – Non-profit international development organization TechnoServe has launched a program known as the Technical Assistance Accelerator Programme (TAAP), aimed at increasing the diversity of fortified foods available to consumers. During the launch of the programme which was also graced by the private sector and Government agencies, Dominic Schofield, the Director of the TechnoServe Global Program, explained how the program will further guarantee that Kenyan consumers will continue to have access to wholesome food. According to him, the TAAP is vital to ensure that consumers have access to nutrition at a time when supply chain disruptions and high food prices are affecting consumption patterns. “For example, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has disrupted supply chains and upended the global trade of agricultural goods, mounting increases in the price of food staples has also forced households to alter their diets, likely impacting their consumption of essential nutrients,” said Schofield. He noted that food fortification has been widely identified as a cost-effective strategy for addressing micronutrient malnutrition at scale. “The prospect of lower calorie intakes increases the importance of fortifying staple foods such as maize flour, rice, and edible oil,” he added. TAAP follows the Strengthening African Processors on Fortified Foods (SAPFF) program, which was established in 2017 and aimed to raise compliance levels with food fortification among two staples of Kenya: wheat and maize flour.
Dominic Schofield, the Director of the TechnoServe Global Program
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Kenya lifts 10-year GMO cultivation and importation ban
KENYA — The Kenyan government has lifted its ban on Genetically Modified Crops in the country after 10 years of suspension, permitting farmers to cultivate and import food crops and animal feeds that have been genetically enhanced through biotechnology. In a meeting Chaired by President William Ruto in State House Nairobi, the cabinet decided per the recommendation of the Task Force to Review Matters Relating to Genetically Modified Foods and Food Safety, and in fidelity with the guidelines of the National Biosafety Authority on all applicable international treaties including the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB). Kenya has been reluctant to approve the import or planting of genetically modified food crops since November 2012, amid an ongoing debate about the safety of GM crops, which have been lauded for their advantages including resistance to drought, pests, and higher yields. “As part of the medium to long term responses to the ongoing drought, and as a progressive step towards significantly redefining agriculture in Kenya by adopting crops that are resistant to pests and disease…” read the statement in part. Across Africa, GM crops are commercially grown in South Africa, Nigeria, and Sudan. More than a dozen other nations are currently undertaking trials on about eight GM crops, including banana, cassava, and maize, in preparation for their introduction into the food supply.
THE KENYAN GOVERNMENT HAS LIFTED ITS BAN ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS IN THE COUNTRY AFTER 10 YEARS OF SUSPENSION, PERMITTING FARMERS TO CULTIVATE AND IMPORT GMO FOOD & ANIMAL FEED
Amidst mixed reactions from activists, East African counterparts
KENYA – East African counterparts and other activists have raised an eyebrow in response to Kenya’s recent move to repeal the 10-year prohibition on genetically modified (GM) foods, remaining skeptical of the goods’ safety. The lobbies claim that the decision was made without consulting the public and that it “basically restricts Kenyans’ ability to pick what they want to consume.” They urged the prohibition to be promptly lifted and the establishment of an inclusive participatory process to consider long-term and viable solutions to problems affecting food security. “Food security is not just about the amount of food but the quality and safety of food. Our cultural and indigenous foods have proved to be safer, with diverse nutrients and with less harmful chemical inputs,” said a joint statement signed by a dozen groups, including Greenpeace Africa. Given Kenya’s porous borders and the lack of a formal regional policy on GM technology, its neighbors are racing to tighten regulations. Hussein Bashe, Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture, stated that Dodoma was adamantly opposed to the use of biotechnology in food production and would enact stricter regulations to stop GM foods or cash crops produced in “neighboring nations” from entering the nation. African Organic Network (AfroNET), a Dar es Salaam-based organization, claimed Kenya proceeded without adequately assessing the long-term effects of GM technology on the general health of its populace. “They have taken a wrong approach to such a contentious issue. It is not simply about ensuring food security in times of drought, as they seem to think,” said Constantine Akitanda, AfroNET Spokesperson. Kenya is the second country after South Africa to back out of an African Union resolution to adopt organic agriculture instead of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) methods to minimize the effects of climate change.
Israeli government adopts European food safety standards to lower cost of living
ISRAEL – To lower the exorbitant cost of living in the nation, the Israeli government has authorized a plan to follow European food safety standards, abolishing the great majority of Israeli requirements. The changes will affect the production and import of items such as canned vegetables, pasta, rice, candies, spices, soup powder, condiments, and milk products, among others.
Israel’s cost of living is among the highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member nations. However, this has often been attributed to import restrictions that prevent foreign companies from operating there, as well as a lack of competition among local importers and manufacturers, which allows them to hike prices. An Interministerial Committee headed by Yoel Bris, a former Legal Adviser to the Finance Ministry, decided to adopt the European criteria. The adoption of European food standards in place of Israeli ones will go into effect on January 1. On that date, 97 of the present 127 food requirements will be instantly repealed for imports into Israel. However, for domestic manufacturers, the 97 safety criteria will be phased out over the course of four years, with 60 being abolished on January 1, 21 being withdrawn a year later, one being eliminated the next year, and 15 being eliminated in August.
DISEASES, OUTBREAKS & RECALLS
Edible oil manufacturers dispute KEBS suspension of products
KENYA – Following the suspension of several brands of edible oil in the Kenyan market, sector players are now calling for joint testing of the claimed non-compliant batches. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) recently suspended the sale of 10 brands after subjecting the oil and fats to tests at their laboratory against the requirements of the Standards Act, and the respective product standard KS EAS 769: KS 2019 fortified edible oils & fats – specification in iron levels. The standard sets out the requirement for iron as 2.5 mg/Kg at the maximum. However, the findings of the KEBS test on the particular batches revealed that a particular batch of cooking oil and fats that the companies placed on the market ranged between 4.6mg/kg and 198.99mg/kg. Of the banned products, Bidco was ordered to recall Bahari Fry batch number 107921 and Olive Gold batch number 105948, with Pwani Oil removing its four oil brands –Fresh Fri batch number FF1L17487D, Fresh Fri with Garlic batch number FF500175260, fry mate batch number 8941D, and Salit batch number SS1L17472D. Menengai withdrew its Top Fri oil of batch number OL4A3 MF9.25.05.22, while Kapa Oil Refineries was told to recall Postman of batch number 0210322B, Rina oils of batch number 0340522B, and Tilly cooking fat of batch number 152222A.
PARTNERSHIP
BSI to help Ghana Standards Authority improve its technical capacity
GHANA – The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has partnered with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to ease the adoption of international standards and participation in the development of global standards. BSI is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. It produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies certification and standards-related services to businesses. Mr. Graham Holloway, a BSI Consultant met with senior officials as part of a series of engagements to go through the specifics of an upcoming “Standards Partnership Pilot Programme” anticipated to run for 8 months. The programme, among other things, is expected to improve the technical capacity of the GSA, promote awareness and use of international standards across the continent and enhance trade facilitation to reduce time and costs. The Standards Partnership programme is an initiative started in Ghana and Rwanda by Vicky Ford, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Minister.
The programme, unveiled during the Africa Debate 2022 in July, will strengthen supply chains, and reduce barriers to trade by helping both countries meet global standards and regulations.
