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Lamuka P.O. (2014) Public Health Measures: Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety. In:
Motarjemi Y. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Food Safety, Volume 4, pp. 20-26. Waltham, MA: Academic Press.
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES
Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety
PO Lamuka, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
r2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Introduction
The past few decades have posed tremendous challenges
to developing countries in ensuring adequate supply of
safe and quality foods for the domestic and international
markets. The major priority in management of food safety
has been to ensure access to the international markets so
as to generate valuable foreign exchange. Unfortunately, less
attention has been paid to prevention of foodborne disease
locally.
The structure of international trade in agricultural products
has changed significantly over the past decades for developing
countries. There has been a substantial increase in exports of
fresh produce, compared with manufactured or processed
products. In the current global food market, the protection of
human, plant, and animal life and health is a challenge that
must be addressed by developing countries through develop-
ment of internationally recognized food safety systems.
However, the developed countries, which are major markets,
have been tightening their controls so as to provide a ‘high
level’ of protection for their consumers.
Most food safety challenges facing developing countries
can be attributed to the management system’s inability to
detect potential risks and gaps, share information, plan toge-
ther, and identify appropriate strategies for collaborative
management of food safety in the supply chain and protect
the consumer. In developing countries, the prime responsi-
bility of ensuring food safety in the food supply chain is
regarded as a responsibility of government.
Prominent food scares, caused by bacterial (e.g., Salmonella
and Listeria monocytogenes) and chemical (e.g., mycotoxins)
contaminations and changes in the international trading en-
vironment have elevated food safety to the forefront of inter-
national agri-food policy and public health concerns. These
concerns were exacerbated during the 1990s by ‘mad cow
disease’ and the ‘dioxin crisis’ and forced regulators to rethink
food safety strategies, integrating the various components of
the value chain and introducing traceability requirements. In
the new millennium, food production and distribution have
become even more complex and market choices for con-
sumers even wider. The media and consumers have developed
a much greater interest in food safety issues following a
number of food scares internationally.
The changes in the international trading environment
include an increased emphasis on food safety regulations
in trade, introduction of strict food safety standards, reor-
ientation of food quality techniques toward preventive
management, and a shift by regulatory agencies toward pro-
cess-based standards and mandatory Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Point (HACCP). These changing trends raise several
important food safety management challenges and oppor-
tunities for developing countries. The most obvious concerns
are the impact these have on the heavily relied on agricultural
commodity export markets and domestic food sector.
Many developing countries are pursuing value addition
strategies which are geared toward expanding their food export
markets. The 1999 statistics shows that approximately 50% of
agricultural imports in the USA were from developing coun-
tries, an increase of 38.37% from 1995. There is a growing
public and scientific community perception that incidences of
foodborne disease are on the rise. However, the high standards
can only be effective when they are enforced through an effi-
cient food control system. Therefore, developing countries
need to establish food safety management systems that are
responsive to recent changes in the international food safety
system. The most important issues are how the export sector is
coping with new international requirements and how the
governments, producers, and consumers are coping with the
evolving food safety challenges.
Food Production System
Food production, processing, and marketing systems in de-
veloping countries are complex. The food production systems
are highly fragmented and dependent on a large number of
small-scale producers. The current farm structure constrains
farmer’s capacity to meet domestic and international food
safety standards. Although this may have socioeconomic
benefits as large quantities of food pass through a multitude of
food handlers and middlemen, the risk of exposing food to
unhygienic environments, contamination, and adulteration
increases. Literacy rate for most farmers and food handlers in
developing countries is low; this limits the number of farmers
capable of adopting more sophisticated modern agricultural
practices, food hygiene, and good food handling practices
necessary to meet more stringent food safety requirements.
However, innovative interventions such as organizing
farmers into producer groups, establishing collection centers,
contract farming arrangements, and creating public–private
partnerships to assist farmers can overcome the farm size
constraints. Contract farming and farmer groups’ arrangement
has been a success in meeting stringent food safety and quality
standards in Kenya’s fresh fruit and vegetable and India’s
Encyclopedia of Food Safety, Volume 4 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-378612-8.00310-320
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spices, gherkin, and fruit and vegetable export sectors. This
arrangement can also assist farmers in obtaining the capital
required to make on-farm improvements, improving farming
skills through joint extension provision and assistance in
acquiring the required certifications.
During the Green Revolution, use of high-yielding seeds
together with chemical intensive agriculture that uses massive
quantities of fertilizer and pesticides created diverse effects on
soil and environmental contamination. This trend had serious
implication on the current international food production
system, which emphasizes on minimum use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides, thus posing serious challenges to
management of food safety by developing countries. In the
past decades, the structure of food production systems has
radically changed with many small scale producers venturing
into production of export crops with some successes and
failures. Major food safety problems occur as a result of poor
post harvest handling and storage of food and also due to
inadequate facilities and infrastructure such as the absence
or shortage of safe water supply, electricity, storage facilities
including cold stores, transport networks, etc.
Food Processing Industry
In developing countries, food processing industries range from
sophisticated state-of-the-art facilities to small artisanal oper-
ations producing food for the local community. The size of
these processing units varies from a few large plants to a many
small and cottage-scale units with very limited resources for
effective technological inputs. In most scenarios, the premises
are not equipped to deal with the maintenance of food safety
and quality in a scientific and sustainable manner. The chal-
lenge for developing countries is how to provide incentives for
the effective expansion of these small units so that they adapt
better technologies to ensure food safety and quality. Gov-
ernments often support these small units as they provide
employment and generate income for their operators.
Food processors in developing countries also face prob-
lems with the reliability and timely delivery of safety and
quality raw materials. Raw materials are produced by small-
holder farmers who lack infrastructure for their conservation
and preservation, resulting in variability in the quality and
safety of the raw materials. This calls for greater vigilance by
the food processing units and food control activity at all stages
along the food supply chain. Food security and safety have
synergic effects as technologies used for food preservation also
promote food safety both at industrial and household level.
Hence, food safety aspects should not be neglected from
public health and agriculture policies in developing countries.
Recent Trends in International Food Safety
Management
Recent trends in food safety management have had serious
impact on management of food safety in developing coun-
tries. International food markets provide significant oppor-
tunities for these countries to develop their agricultural
exports and domestic markets. However, agricultural food
products in developing countries are likely to contain food
safety risks and encounter sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)
measures as barriers to market access. In addition, extensive
media attention and increased awareness on the consequences
of food contamination on health have heightened consumer
concerns. Food safety and agricultural health standards differ
across countries due to differences in tastes, diets, income
levels, and perceptions, which influence people’s tolerance to
these risks. Differences in climate and available technologies
(refrigeration, irradiation, etc.) affect the incidence of food
safety and agricultural health hazards.
To fully utilize gains from international food trade,
developing countries need to overcome these barriers and
develop capability to guarantee the safety of their food prod-
ucts. The implications of these trends mean that an effective
food safety management system is a challenge but
a prerequisite for enhancing food exports from developing
countries. The adopted food safety management practices
should not only improve their international competitiveness
but also heighten domestic food safety awareness. A well-
coordinated food safety management system that involves
all stakeholders within the supply chain is necessary for pre-
vention of potential risks as experienced in Kenya’s fresh
horticultural produce and fish sector.
Food Safety Standards and International Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) inter-
national trade rules to protect human, animal, or plant health
were so vague that many countries used ‘health requirements’
as barriers to trade. Changes to the GATT rules embodied in
the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations in 1994
that brought food and agricultural products into the fold of
international trading rules addressed these concerns. This lead
to the adoption of the Agreement on Application of SPS
measures (laws, regulations, and procedures) and an updated
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) that provided
an opportunity to ensure fair and efficient international trade
based on considerations of equity and fair access to global
food markets. These agreements were designed to lay out
conditions for transparency, equivalence, regionalization,
harmonization, and national sovereignty when countries es-
tablish their regulatory measures to ensure food safety, con-
sumer protection, and plant and animal health. The use of
unjustified health-related measures as barriers to trade was
discouraged unless such measures have science-based evidence
and risk assessment principles. Through the World Trade
Organization (WTO), there is a scientifically based approach
to negotiation and conflict resolution to keep food safety from
being an intractable barrier to trade.
The management of SPS measures to reduce food-related
health risks poses clear, specific challenges for developing
countries which are handicapped by more limited access to
scientific and technical expertise and information needed to
meet these new requirements. Their difficulties do not appear
to influence the international legislative process as most
developing countries lack the necessary financial facilitation to
participate in the activities of international organizations. The
prevailing food production and marketing conditions are
Public Health Measures: Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety 21
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highly fragmented and dependent on a large number of small
scale producers. Thus, they are incompatible with SPS re-
quirements such as traceability. Preliminary estimates show
significant negative economic consequences of more stringent
trade barriers, with millions of dollars lost in commodity
trade. Henson et al. reported that the number of technical
notifications for developing countries to the WTO and its
predecessor, the GATT, doubled between 1990 and 1998.
Therefore, any collaborative and development cooperation
should support developing countries in the management of
food safety for domestic and export markets. With the assist-
ance from international organizations measures to enhance
food safety control systems have been implemented in many
developing countries with some success, but greater efforts are
still needed to allow these countries to effectively build their
systems into a sustainable structure.
Strict International Standards
Food safety standards have become a more prominent issue
for global trade in agricultural food products. International
food trade in high-value food products from developing
countries to high-income countries has diversified enormously
over the past decades. Owing to increasing consumer con-
cerns, regulators in developed countries have been raising the
standards that exporters need to meet to sell on their markets.
However, the proliferation and strengthening of food safety
and agricultural health standards at international level and in
individual supply chains have caused considerable concern
among developing countries due to the effect they might cause
on the magnitude of the expanded and diversified food ex-
ports. There is greater scrutiny of the production or processing
techniques employed along the food supply chains.
However, this situation is creating a scenario for com-
petitive repositioning and enhanced export performance of
developing countries. Although recognizing that food safety
standards (as barrier to trade) can act to impede food exports
and prevent new entrants into the high-value food trade, there
is a need to view them as catalysts toward improvement of
food safety standards for international trade.
Private food safety standards, which fall outside of the
WTO, are playing a more prominent role in governing food
markets. The costs of compliance, multiplicity of different
standards, increasing specificity of those standards, and lack
of harmonization among them are major concerns for
developing countries. However, evidence indicates that, in
many instances, the costs of compliance are less than as-
sumed, especially relative to the value of exports. The growing
complexity and lack of harmonization between countries
impedes the efforts of developing countries to gain access to
potentially lucrative markets in industrialized countries. The
World Bank report findings indicated that there is adequate
capacity to meet emerging food safety requirements where
substantial progress has been made in relation to quality as-
surance and logistics management. But many developing
countries lack the administrative, technical, and scientific
capacities to comply with dynamic and increasingly strict
food safety standards, presenting potentially insurmountable
barriers to the development of high-value food products
market opportunities. Several international agencies have been
exploring ways to assist developing exporting countries build
the necessary national capacity to meet these international
safety and quality standards.
The most serious challenges for developing countries have
been the costs of failing to meet strict international food safety
standards. Evidence of continuing trouble is clearly apparent
from Import Refusal Reports issued by the EU and the US.
These incidences reported on international alert systems causes
drop in price, economic losses due to loss of business, and
longer term reputation damage. In 1997, the detection of sal-
monella in fish and fishery product exports to the EU from
India, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were banned. This was
attributable to noncompliance of hygiene standards in fish
processing plants. However, these countries addressed the hy-
giene-related problems, and on re-inspection in 2002, ap-
proved facilities meeting the requirements of the EU hygiene
legislation concerning structure, maintenance, and hygiene,
and the countries were added to the list of ‘approved’ countries.
There are examples of well-organized and well-managed
supply chains in developing countries that have maintained or
even enhanced their competitiveness and market share during
this period of more stringent standards. This is well demon-
strated by the case of Thai and Kenyan horticulture (fruit and
vegetable) sector, the Kenya Nile perch sector, Thai and
Nicaraguan shrimp, and Indian spices. New or more stringent
standards also provide a stimulus for investments in supply
chain modernization; increased incentives for the adoption of
better safety practices and help clarify the appropriate roles of
government in food safety and agricultural health manage-
ment. Significant changes have been introduced in food safety
management systems by the leading export companies by
adopting and refining HACCP systems.
Evolution in Food Quality Systems
The past decades have witnessed a revolution of food quality
systems in food safety management. These include the Good
Practices guidelines, HACCP principles, various guidelines for
total quality management such as the ISO 9000-2000 set of
standards and ‘farm-to-fork’ strategies. The lack of good agri-
cultural, manufacturing, and hygiene practices in developing
countries remain a major challenge for improving food safety
both for the domestic and export market. However, in the re-
cent past, there have been efforts to promote good practices
inline with GlobalGap or EurepGap. Although the quality
management systems remain voluntary, the usefulness of
HACCP has been recognized and it is becoming a legislative
requirement in many developing countries. A rise in mandatory
HACCP for some agricultural sectors (fresh fruit and vegetable,
meat, and fishery products) has become a license requirement
to export these products. The fragmented and large number of
small-scale producers, middlemen, and retailers in the food
system poses a big challenge to the management of the ‘farm to
fork’ aspect of food safety for both domestic and export market.
The industries and regulatory bodies in developing coun-
tries have also shifted away from the traditional largely reactive
focus on end-product testing to process-based quality man-
agement (prevention of quality failures before they occur) and
22 Public Health Measures: Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety
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involvement of all personnel in providing customer satis-
faction. Process-based regulations shift the primary responsi-
bility for safety from the government to the industry sector,
with the government acting as the auditor of the industry’s
own programs, a move from a ‘command and control’ ap-
proach to one stressing responsibility of private industry actors.
Food Control Infrastructure and Resources
Food regulatory infrastructures in developing countries are in-
adequate due to limited resources and a multiplicity of agencies
under different laws and government departments or ministries
(Agriculture, Health, Commerce and Industry, and Fisheries).
The multiplicity of agencies makes the management and co-
ordination of control measures difficult. Each agency operates
independently to fulfill the function for which it was estab-
lished. Concerns have been raised that these agencies have no
clear vision or precise strategy, and the overlapping of activities
and divergences on priorities has a negative impact on the ef-
ficiency of the control system. Therefore, there is need for all the
food safety activities to be integrated into a single independent
and coordinated system. Collaborative planning and effective
communication is, therefore, required in the whole food supply
chain to efficiently respond to market requirements.
A lack of overall strategic direction means that limited re-
sources are not properly utilized. Food control systems suffer
from poorly or inadequately developed compliance policies.
Most of the legislations are outdated and have regulatory
vacuums in several fields for several products. The goal should
be to introduce procedures into the legislation and regulatory
texts for preventive control operations and administration.
The human resource capacity is limited and not focused in
their training. Upgrading of their knowledge and skills in
current developments in food safety and quality, food and
disease surveillance, HACCP, and risk analysis will enhance
their understanding of food safety.
Food control laboratories do not cover the whole country
and are limited in scope of testing, are understaffed, few in
number, poorly equipped, and lack suitably trained staff. This
is accentuated where multiple agencies are involved in food
control. Most of the available laboratory equipment are out-
dated and cannot test to the same level of detection accuracy
as in common in developed countries and unable to detect
certain emerging sensitive chemicals hazards. Testing for safety
of foods derived from biotechnology (genetically modified
organisms (GMOs)) is of concern in developing countries.
Modern food control systems call for science-based and
transparent decision-making process. The preventive approach
requires access to qualified and trained personnel in all dis-
ciplines. A few laboratories are in the process of modernizing
the laboratories to improve their capacity and respond to the
increasing demand for the services.
Poor Infrastructure and Services in the Marketing System
Poor infrastructure in developing countries challenges their
abilities to meet either public or private standards. Reducing
food safety risks from the farm to domestic and export mar-
kets is constrained by inadequate infrastructure and facilities,
particularly at the farm level, distribution level, and wholesale
markets. The infrastructure and facilities in these markets are
limited and rudimentary. Waste management and pest control
in the markets are very weak. Reducing food safety risks will
require significant public and private investments to upgrade
the markets infrastructure and services. For regulated markets,
this will also require improving the operational and fiduciary
in order to build consumer and customer trust.
Food Safety and Domestic Market
Consumers in developing countries face a higher level of ex-
posure to contaminated foods than those in developed coun-
tries. The climate in most developing countries favors
proliferation of pests, disease, and naturally occurring toxins;
the water for cleaning equipments and utensils and processing
food are frequently unsafe. There are no regulatory standards,
whereas existing standards are poorly enforced. The control of
food products on domestic market is essentially repressive and
consists of checking that finished products for sale adhere to
regulations and fair business practices are respected. This leaves
a noticeable void at the level of the production and primary
processing stages. Thus, this approach does not always guar-
antee quality and safety. The rural–urban migration, in past
few decades, has contributed greatly to an increase in urban
and periurban agriculture. This urban and periurban farming
may led to microbial and chemical, especially heavy metal,
contamination of food, thus posing a risk to public health.
Owing to poverty, the rural masses do not constitute an
important domestic market and cannot stimulate profitable
economic activity for the food industry. In most developing
countries, increasing incomes, urbanization, literacy, im-
proved infrastructure, and closer ties to global trends, espe-
cially during the past decade, have resulted in an expanding
domestic consumer-based concerns about food quality and
safety. Rapid urbanization and middle class with high income
have complicated the situation by changing population’s tra-
ditional ways of handling food with more people depending
on food markets or food prepared outside of the home.
Increased vigilance by non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), consumer groups, and local research institutes is also
raising consumer awareness and advocacy and spurring action
among consumers and policy makers to address food safety
risks. These trends have brought increased attention to safety
concerns in the handling, processing, and marketing of foods.
There is also growing consumer preference for convenience
shopping, increased exposure to the media (television, cable,
and the Internet), and ownership of durables such as re-
frigerators, which demand greater efficiency and food quality
and safety standards in the supply chain.
There is need to shift to the modern control system, which
is characterized by reduction of analyses and their cost to the
regulatory bodies. The industry takes on the responsibility of
self-inspection and the government replaces inspection of the
finished product with validation of industry self-inspection
and self-evaluation systems. Some analyses can be carried out
within the framework of voluntary self monitoring by the
industry. The control system should set up permanent dia-
logue with industry representatives in order to inform them of
Public Health Measures: Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety 23
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their obligations and changes in regulations. However, export
products follow a codified methodology essentially dictated by
the requirements of the export market.
Street Foods
The rural–urban migration in developing countries has con-
tributed to an increase in street vended, ready-to-eat, and
convenience foods. Studies in developing countries have
shown that up to 20–25% of the household food expenditure
is incurred outside the home and some segments of the
population depend entirely on street foods. As one of the
consequences of rapid urbanization, millions of populations
largely depend on street foods for their daily sustenance. In
most developing countries, street food vendors are an im-
portant component of the food supply chain. Being reason-
ably priced and conveniently available, street food satisfies a
vital need of the urban population. These ready-to-eat foods
and beverages are prepared and/or sold by vendors or hawkers
mainly in streets or other convenient public places such as
around places of work, schools, hospitals, railway stations,
and bus terminals. Food safety is major concern within the
street foods supply chain. These foods are handled, prepared,
and sold under unhygienic conditions with limited access to
safe water, sanitary services, or garbage disposal facilities.
Hence, street foods pose a high risk of food poisoning due to
microbial contamination, improper use of food additives,
adulteration, and environmental contamination.
Foodborne Diseases and Surveillance Systems
Foodborne diseases are a problem in developing countries.
Food is prepared under unhygienic conditions at household
and food service establishment level. This results in foods
frequently being contaminated with foodborne pathogens and
thus major cause of diarrheal disease. In developing countries,
infectious diarrhea is the second leading cause of death, es-
pecially in children less than age of 5 years, after respiratory
diseases. The cause of diarrheal diseases has traditionally been
attributable to untreated water supply and unhygienic sani-
tation. It is widely assumed that many pathogens associated
with infectious diarrhea are transmitted through the fecal–oral
route. Efforts to prevent these diseases have been focused on
and sometimes limited to improving water supply and sani-
tation. However, data show that food, being a favorable me-
dium for growth of microorganisms, is the most important
factor in the transmission of diarrhea illnesses. In developing
countries, the role of food as vehicle for acute infectious
diarrhea and in the epidemiology of infectious diarrhea dis-
eases are ignored and preventive measures do not adequately
include food safety considerations. Many outbreaks associated
with foods are sporadic cases and often go undetected. In
developing countries, risks associated with food contamin-
ation and need for improving food safety are frequently not
included among strategies for the prevention of diarrhea
illnesses by public health authorities and other agencies.
In majority of these countries, attention given to foodborne
illnesses is more reactive rather than proactive.
Most of the developing countries lack or have weak sur-
veillance system. Investigations into foodborne disease
causative factors and magnitude of exposure are inadequate.
This results in significant underreporting of foodborne illness.
Available data are not well documented and analyzed during
risk management. This often leads to wrong decision making
and thus reoccurrence of foodborne illness with negative im-
pact on public health and food trade. The management of
infectious diarrhea in these countries is the responsibility of
public health, whereas food safety is associated with food
regulation and food control agencies under different minis-
tries. This results in food safety receiving marginal attention
from public health sector. In the past few decades, food safety
has been recognized within the agriculture and trade sectors,
instead of it being at the forefront to ensure that human health
is adequately considered in food safety policies and standards.
Policy and Regulatory Environment
Because of low consumer awareness, the private sector en-
gaged in food production, processing, distribution, and re-
tailing in developing countries has not taken the necessary
steps to improve the quality and safety of food products. The
government is responsible for ensuring food safety through
enacting and enforcing legislation and setting standards.
Therefore, addressing food safety issues in developing
countries requires the adoption and enforcement of more
appropriate food safety policies, legislation, and standards
suitable to local food risk conditions and preferences and
consistent with international requirements.
Weak Extension Systems
The agricultural extension systems are very weak and have
not effectively focused to the changing needs of food safety
and agricultural health and market safety requirements.
Food safety concerns have been partly addressed through the
integrated pest management programs. Farmers primarily
depended on personal observation or on other farmers for
information about food production and post harvest practices
and pesticide use. The weakly coordinated research at the
national and international level further increases the difficulty
of ensuring effective research–extension–farmer linkages at
the national level. Private extension provision (fee for service)
is emerging within farmers producing high-value export
crops. There are an increasing number of input suppliers,
traders, contract buyers, and exporters who provide extension
services to farmers as an integral part of their trading
arrangements.
Consumer Knowledge and Awareness
The level of knowledge and awareness on food safety issues
among the domestic consumers is still very low and in fact
their main concern is more on food security rather than food
safety. Majority of people in developing countries have low
incomes and are faced with a big challenge of limited choice, a
situation worsened by the limited supplies of most essential
food categories during seasons of limited supply.
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Inadequate Food Safety Standards and Poor Enforcement
The domestic food safety standards need to be aligned with
international standards. However, for some commodities, it
may not be possible to align domestic standards with inter-
national standards as there are no established international
standards. In these instances, conducting research is important
to set appropriate standards for the domestic market. Some
national bodies provide third party certification quality certi-
fication scheme as an assurance of quality and safety.
It has been recognized that the gains in improving food
safety practices in the export sector should spillover into the
domestic market. However, because majority of production is
consumed in the low-priced domestic market, farmers do not
see any advantages for altering their production practices.
Until domestic consumer awareness and willingness to pay for
improved food safety becomes more widespread, it is unlikely
that addressing food safety concerns will become standard
practice. International experience shows that modernization
of the food retail sector is an important driver for change not
only in the structure of production and wholesale marketing
of produce but also in fostering adoption of improved food
safety standards.
Lack of Proactivity in Addressing Food Safety Issues
Domestic food safety scares and problems in agro exports re-
veal absence of proactivity within developing countries in
addressing food safety concerns. Several factors contribute to
this. In the case of agro exports, the emerging SPS measures
and international standards are widely viewed as not scien-
tifically based and as representing unfair ‘barriers to trade.’
These measures are viewed as efforts to protect foreign farmers
or processors from competition or are being fueled by un-
reasonable consumer fears in developed countries and im-
proved technologies for detecting hazard. The approach of
developing countries has been to try to negotiate away the
problems with trading partners and failing to address the
various measures in international standard setting. Insufficient
attention has been devoted to monitoring the requirements of
standards, interpreting their implications, and using current
and anticipated requirements as catalysts to upgrade existing
operations and strengthen supply chain management.
This absence of proactivity has meant that developing
countries either have to adopt a ‘defensive’ strategy by avoiding
markets with more stringent food safety and agricultural health
standards or have to launch into a fire-fighting mode when
faced with potential disruption or loss of trade due to non-
compliance with standards. The absence of proactivity is well
illustrated through examples of problems faced with exports of
fish products to the EU from Kenya and India in the late
nineties. In both cases, although there were signs of potential
problems for a considerable period of time, the food safety
problems were not given serious attention until these countries
were faced with a ban crisis.
Collective Action
Cases of successful experiences in fruit and vegetables, fishery,
and spices sectors using collective action have highlighted its
importance within the food sector. It is aimed at promoting
awareness of food safety matters, finding solutions to emerging
challenges, providing a degree of self-regulation, and reducing
government agencies enforcement roles. Joint and shared efforts
by the government and private sector is needed in better risk
management, promotion and adoption of good practices,
greater collective action, and some targeted public investments.
Although there are many critical regulatory, research, and
management functions that are carried out by governments,
the private sector also has an important role in the actual
compliance with food safety requirements.
Technical Assistance and Role of International
Agencies
The need for technical assistance in strengthening food control
systems in developing countries is well recognized. Both the
SPS Agreement (Article 9) and Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT)
Agreement (Article 11) specifically refer to need to provide
technical assistance to developing countries. Food and Agri-
culture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and
World Health Organization (WHO) are the main inter-
national agencies involved in food quality and safety technical
cooperation programs with developing countries. Such as-
sistance is in areas of processing technologies, research and
infrastructure, establishment of national regulatory bodies,
etc. In particular, developed countries are required on request
to provide technical assistance to the exporting developing
countries to enable them to meet their WTO/SPS/TBT obli-
gations. This opportunity to access technical assistance under
the WTO/SPS/TBT Agreements has not been fully utilized by
developing countries. Technical assistance in the food control
area may also be obtained through the World Bank and bi-
lateral donor agencies. Access to such funds is dependent on
the priority that developing countries attach to strengthening
their food control systems as reflected in their national
development plans.
Conclusion
The challenges for ensuring food safety in the domestic and
export food market in developing countries still remain large.
Improving domestic food safety in developing countries, for
domestic market or export trade, is hampered by a number of
structural, policies, institutional, technical, and cultural chal-
lenges. Addressing these food safety concerns will require
adoption of appropriate legislation, strengthening capacity to
enforce laws, promoting adoption of good agricultural, manu-
facturing, and hygiene practices, greater collective action, and
some targeted investments. Implementing these actions will re-
quire joint efforts by the government and private sector. The
challenge for the future should be to adopt a more strategic
rather than crisis management approach. This will be essential
to ensuring the sustainability and cost effectiveness of these
efforts. Hence, there is a need for continued technical assistance
and dissemination of relevant information to developing
Public Health Measures: Challenges of Developing Countries in Management of Food Safety 25
Author's personal copy
countries to help them to meet the ever-increasing and more
complex challenges posed by international markets.
See also:Foodborne Diseases: Overview of Biological Hazards
and Foodborne Diseases; Overview of Chemical, Physical, and Other
Significant Hazards; Overview of Emerging Food Technologies;
Prevalence of Foodborne Diseases in Africa; Prevalence of Foodborne
Diseases in South East and Central Asia; Prevalence of Foodborne
Diseases in Western Pacific Region
Further Reading
Barro N, Bello AR, Itsiembou Y, et al. (2007) Street-vended foods improvement:
Contamination mechanisms and application of food safety objective strategy:
Critical review. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 6(1): 1–10.
FAO (2010) Private food safety standards: Their role in Food Safety Regulation and
their impact. Paper Presentation by Renata Clarke for Discussion at the 33rd
Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Rome: FAO.
FAS/USDA (2000) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and International Trade.
Available at: www.fas.usda.gov/itp/spsresa.html (accessed on 15 December
2012).
Hanak E, Boutrif E, Fabre P, and Pineiro M (2002) Food safety management in
developing countries. In: Scientific editors. Proceedings of the International
Workshop, CIRAD-FAO, 11–13 December 2000, Montpellier, France, CIRAD-
FAO, CIRAD CD-ROM.
Henson S (2003) Economics of food safety in developing countries. Agricultural
and Development Economics Division, ESA Working Paper No. 03-19. Rome:
The Food and Agriculture Organization.
Henson S and Jaffee S (2006) A strategic perspective on the impact of food safety
standards on developing countries. An invitation paper prepared for presentation
at the International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference, 12–18
August 2006, Gold Coast, Australia.
Henson S, Loader R, Swinbank A, Bredahl M, and Lux N (2000) Impact of Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures on Developing Countries. Centre for Food
Economics Research. UK: University of Reading.
Henson SJ and Mitullah W (2004) Kenyan exports of Nile Perch: Impact of food
safety standards on an export-oriented supply chain. Case Study for a World
Bank Program on the Challenges and Opportunities Associated with International
Agro-Food Standards. Policy Research Working Paper 3349. Washington, DC:
World Bank.
Jaffee S (2003) Challenge to opportunity: Transforming Kenya’s fresh
vegetable trade in the context of emerging food safety and other standards in
Europe. Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 1. Washington,
DC: World Bank.
Jaffee SM and Henson S (2005) Agro-food exports from developing countries: The
challenges posed by standards. In: Aksoy MA and Begin JC (eds.) Global
Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries, pp. 91–114. Washington, DC:
World Bank.
Motarjemi Y, Kaferstein F, Moy G, and Quevedo F (1993) Contaminated weaning
foods: A major risk factor for diarrhoea and associated malnutrition. Bulletin of
World Health Organization 71(1): 79–92.
Motarjemi Y, Steffen R, and Binder HJ (2012) Preventive strategies against
infectious diarrhea – A holistic approach. Gastroenterology 143: 516–519.
Umali-Deininger D and Sur M (2006) Food safety in a globalizing world:
Opportunities and challenges for India. Paper presented at the 26th conference
of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, 12–18 August 2006.
Queensland, Australia: the International Association of Agricultural Economists.
Wilson J and Otsuki T (2003) Balancing risk reduction and benefits from trade in
setting standards. In: Unnevhr LJ (ed.) Food Safety in Food Security and Food
Trade. IFPRI 10(6). International Food Policy Research Institute.
World Bank (2005) Food safety and agricultural health standards: Challenges and
opportunities for developing country exports. Report No. 31207, Poverty
Reduction
&
Economic Management Trade Unit and Agriculture and Rural
Development Department. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Relevant Websites
http://www.cdexalimentarius.org/
Codex Alimentarius Commission.
http://www.fao.rg/food-safety-qualit/
Food and Agriculture Organization.
http://www.ippc.int/
International Plant Protection Convection.
http://www.ipfsaph.org/
International portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health.
http://www.standardsfacility.org/
The Standards and Trade Development Facility.
http://www.worldbank.org/trade/standards
The World Bank.
http://www.oie.int/
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
http://www.wto.org/
The World Trade Organization.
http://www.usda.gov/
US Department of Agriculture.
http://www.fda.gov/
US Food and Drug Administration.
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