Access to a secure supply of safe food is a human right. Everyone involved in food production, processing, sale and service has a role in ensuring that the food that reaches consumers will not be a hazard to human health. National food control systems are designed to ensure a safe food supply and to promote the good health of local populations. Food legislation in many countries requires food businesses to conduct a hazard analysis and introduce measures necessary to ensure production of safe food. Guidelines for food safety management systems (FSMS) are defined internationally by FAO and WHO in Codex 1997, based on general requirements for hygiene and the principles of HACCP systems. NRI has been working with research institutes and government organizations worldwide to establish centres of excellence in food safety and quality management (see project examples in Costa Rica and Poland). Teams of scientists follow professional development programmes based at NRI, which include visits to food producers, processors and major retailers. The teams undertake training in all aspects of safety and quality management, with courses on general hygiene, HACCP, and quality management systems (such as ISO 9000), as well as receiving tuition on the establishment of laboratory routines to comply with Good Laboratory Practice as required by ISO 17025.

Selling street foods in Accra, Ghana © University of Greenwich

The growth of urban populations in developing countries provides both opportunities and risks for resource-poor groups in urban and peri-urban environments. By 2020, the developing world’s urban population is predicted to double, reaching 3.4 billion. This presents very great challenges to food systems and how they are managed. One feature of the urbanization process has been the development of informal food supply systems such as street-vended foods. Poor people have found that the production and sale of street foods is an effective livelihood strategy that uses their limited capital assets to meet opportunities in urban areas. Street-vended foods can make a significant contribution to the urban economy: for example, street foods are estimated to have an annual turnover of US$ 100 million in Accra, Ghana. However, street-food vending may also pose health risks to already vulnerable groups. NRI is developing appropriate food safety systems, based on the HACCP approach, for street-vended foods in Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, working in partnership with NGOs, street-food vendors, consumer groups, local authorities, food safety organizations, and environmental agencies.