More on why outright banning of ‘wet markets’ (while ‘giving virologists the heebie-jeebies’) won’t work

Reposted from ILRI News, written by Susan MacMillan Liam Taylor, a reporter for The Economist, recently interviewed Uganda-based food safety experts at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and at Uganda’s premiere university, Makerere, in development of an article about whether wet markets will be banned in the wake of COVID-19. Continue reading →

Experts call on African countries to prioritize food safety in urban food markets

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa launched its 2020 Africa Agriculture Status Report during the African Green Revolution Forum virtual summit hosted in Kigali, Rwanda on 8-11 September 2020. This year’s report focuses on the challenges of feeding Africa’s cities and the opportunities available to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses to meet the needs … Continue reading →

Wildlife markets in the pandemic: Prohibit or preserve them? Ban or promote them?

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is suspected to have originated in a bat or other wild animal, calls are increasing for bans on consuming game meat or selling it in the traditional fresh markets ubiquitous in low- and middle-income countries, also known as ‘informal’ or ‘wet’ markets. … Continue reading →

Why food safety in Africa’s informal markets must be driven by consumers

Opinion piece by Arie Havelaar, University of Florida and Ashagrie Zewdu Woldegiorgis, Addis Ababa University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article published on #WorldFoodSafetyDay. @gatesfoundation, @DFIDAgResearch and @DFID_Research. Listeria in processed meat products from South Africa, E. Coli in romaine lettuce in the US, Salmonella in … Continue reading →

Food Safety a ‘Major Public Health Issue,’ Says UF/IFAS Professor Ahead of First-Ever World Food Safety Day

Written by Kirsten Romaguera, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) The World Health Organization estimates that each year, 600 million people suffer from an episode of foodborne disease, or one out of every 10 global citizens. To highlight the need for safe, accessible food worldwide, the United Nations General Council last … Continue reading →

Vacancy for a researcher on quantitative microbiological risk assessment

We are looking for a researcher who is a motivated team player with a great interest in the quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) and who has an affinity with behaviour of foodborne pathogens and cost-benefit analysis. This project is centred around the poultry and fresh vegetables chains in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia (ILRI-led Pull-Push-Project). For … Continue reading →

Six-million-dollar investment to tackle the causes of foodborne disease in Ethiopia

Originally posted on ILRI news:
? Principal food safety investigators conducted a press conference to launch four food safety programs in Ethiopia, 14–15 Feb 2019, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Left to right): Frank Arestrup, of the Technical University of Denmark; Kristina Rösel, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); Ashagri Zewdu, of Addis Ababa University; and…

Why foodborne disease is becoming a development priority—and is a solvable problem

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
The huge economic burden of foodborne disease is driven by public health not trade. This opinion piece is written by Delia Grace Randolph, joint leader of the Animal and Human Health program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and leader of the Food Safety flagship of the CGIAR Research…

Recruitment of Scientist Epidemiology for food safety risk assessment and management in informal markets in sub-Saharan Africa

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Scientist – Epidemiology to support ILRI’s growing activities in food safety risk assessment and risk management in informal markets and value chains in sub-Saharan Africa as well as improving control of transboundary animal diseases. For details visit: https://www.ilri.org/jobs?jid=28580-scientist-epidemiology Deadline: 7 December 2018 Continue reading →

New World Bank report says food-borne illnesses cost US$ 110 billion per year in low- and middle-income countries

Originally posted on AgHealth:
Rinsing fresh fish in Accra, Ghana (photo credit: ILRI/Kennedy Bomfeh). A new World Bank study finds that the impact of unsafe food costs low- and middle-income economies about US$ 110 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses each year. Yet a large proportion of these costs could be avoided by adopting…