**3. Components of a good national food safety system and the status of each in the developing countries**

#### **3.1. National food safety policy**

This gives the general direction and thrust to the food industry in a country and defines the collective vision for all the actors in the food chain in a country. The presence of a Food Safety policy (FSP) is critical to coordinated function of all the organizations charged with the responsibility to deliver food safety. It is in this document that governments must state and demonstrate food safety and its relation to economic and public health. The case studies of the developing countries here demonstrate at least governments' understanding and commitment to setting up a food safety and nutrition policy.

#### **3.2. Food legislation**

Once a food safety policy is in place and adopted, this gives room for appropriate accompanying legislation. The legislation must be updated, based on science; give spell out clearly the roles and obligations of each concerned organization, and above all be enforced. For many developing countries, the full enforcement is a missing ingredient. For food safety legislations to succeed, they must cover all components of the food supply chain. Often in Africa, and the rest of the developing countries, food safety legislations leave out the informal sector which is a major contributor to food value chain and hence any accompanying ills.

#### **3.3. National food standards development platform**

There is great variety of indigenous foods in the developing world. Many countries do not have standards that govern preparation and trade of these indigenous foods. Effort is put currently through Codex Alimentarius Commission's (CAC) Working Groups to change this. This move should be encouraged and many countries ought to bring on the table several of their native foods. However, the standards development process must be supported by scientific data on nutritional and safety aspects of food which is a gap that needs to be filled. In addition, the standards development must be responsive and internationally oriented and the body responsible be accorded a clear mandate.

#### **3.4. Science-based risk assessment (RA)**

Legislation and standards that serve the intended purposes in guaranteeing food safety and cross border trade must be science-based. WHO and FAO had earlier, in 1992, stated that risk analysis must be the basis of any food safety framework [12], but in developing countries, lack of expertise, low investment in the requisite infrastructure, and difficulty in collecting own toxicological data is a hindrance to RA. This challenge is a huge one and requires collaborative and innovative efforts from all stakeholders. Toxicological exposure data in many developing countries is very scanty, inaccurate, and usually not timely. To help developing countries to conduct risk assessment, FAO/WHO studies is a great place to start but unless these are closely related to the country's specific needs, priority may differ from those of FAO and WHO and depending on FAO/WHO's focus data may take long to finally capture the aspirations of specific countries.

#### **3.5. Inspection**

**2.2. Models of national food safety and quality control systems**

In general, it can be surmised that there are three major models adopted by countries in national food control systems: the single agency model relies on one organization or umbrella body which is mandated with all the functions of controlling food safety. This model has the advantage that food safety issues are accorded priority, and they can be highly effective. The second model implies multiple agency scenarios. In this case, the role of food safety is sector and commodityspecific. In this system, the roles could also be devolved to federal, local governments or counties and the national level. Some challenges with this model are: duplicity of functions, conflicts, and differing expertise at national and at the regional level, reduced domestic consumer confidence and confusion among stakeholders as to which laws to comply with. The third model is an integrated system: in this system, agencies are assigned jurisdiction based on aspects of food safety which cut across all the sectors such as policy development, coordination, inspection, education, and training. Irrespective of the model that best suits a country, it must be based on the principles of transparency, inclusiveness, integrity; clarity of roles, accountability, science/risk-based

approach and equivalence as the benchmarks against which its success is measured [3].

**3. Components of a good national food safety system and the status** 

This gives the general direction and thrust to the food industry in a country and defines the collective vision for all the actors in the food chain in a country. The presence of a Food Safety policy (FSP) is critical to coordinated function of all the organizations charged with the responsibility to deliver food safety. It is in this document that governments must state and demonstrate food safety and its relation to economic and public health. The case studies of the developing countries here demonstrate at least governments' understanding and commit-

Once a food safety policy is in place and adopted, this gives room for appropriate accompanying legislation. The legislation must be updated, based on science; give spell out clearly the roles and obligations of each concerned organization, and above all be enforced. For many developing countries, the full enforcement is a missing ingredient. For food safety legislations to succeed, they must cover all components of the food supply chain. Often in Africa, and the rest of the developing countries, food safety legislations leave out the informal sector which is a major con-

There is great variety of indigenous foods in the developing world. Many countries do not have standards that govern preparation and trade of these indigenous foods. Effort is put

**of each in the developing countries**

ment to setting up a food safety and nutrition policy.

tributor to food value chain and hence any accompanying ills.

**3.3. National food standards development platform**

**3.1. National food safety policy**

22 Food Safety - Some Global Trends

**3.2. Food legislation**

Food quality inspections demonstrate or validate the success or failure of food safety legislations. Legislations that are not enforced are not beneficial at all. This is a major setback in all the aspects of the developing countries. Many factors contribute to this; including low status often awarded to food safety officers, inadequate logistical support, and cumulative tasks required of them hence intermittent attention to the task of inspection. Inadequate geographical coverage in all areas of the country by inspectors of food legislations and neglect of rural community means that their food safety concerns often go unaddressed.

#### **3.6. Laboratory testing services**

Inspections, and other aspects of food safety monitoring, depend largely on validation, and this is partly conducted by testing of samples to ensure enforcement of legislation. Rapid laboratory testing is also critical to implementation of food-borne illness' outbreak surveillance. In many cases, laboratory facilities in developing economies whether in Asia or Africa are old, poorly equipped and with either very few personnel or with low competency.

#### **3.7. Capacity**

Capacity to implement food safety legislations is a major determiner of success or failure of a food safety management system at the country level. Inadequate capacity is a bottleneck that cuts across many areas. This may be due to lack of competent personnel, lack of funding or poor logistical support to carry out the different aspects dealing in food safety.

#### **3.8. Training and education in food safety**

Food safety legislation requires regular, planned ongoing training, and upgrading of knowledge for food control officers, law enforcers, consumers and all stakeholders. Many factors regarding food safety change from time to time. This may include status of chemicals for use as food additives, and even specifications like microbial criteria or tolerable daily intakes. Competent, updated and, a responsive team is required to harness these developments for the purposes of making food safety legislations work.

**4.1. The two faces of developing countries' food safety management systems**

**5. Case studies: status of food safety legislation in West Africa**

Ghana's food production system is dominated by informal—very intricate-small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems are not applied by SMEs and occasionally by the large food processors in a reactionary manner, that is, in response to a food safety threatening incident or at the behest of consumers in foreign markets. Most of the local foods and brews are not necessarily included in the standards in Ghana, and this leaves a gap in which food safety programmes cannot be implemented yet these foods contribute massively to the quantity and nutritional intake of the population. These neglected food supply chains could easily be the source of food-borne illnesses and even death. Essentially, there is low literacy that people who are sensitive about food safety are seen to be doing so out of their affluence or to belong to a different class than everybody else. Compared to other challenges like lack of electricity, roads, and food insecurity due to inadequate supplies, food safety is not a priority to most developing countries. This may be the reason why inadequate funding is

This lack of priority means many food supply chains for the majority of the rural areas and town dwellers are not regulated, and to compound this further, traceability mechanisms are almost nonexistent. However, for a few commodities traded formally and internationally, reasonable food safety parameters and legislations are in place. These commodities include; cereals, fruits, vegetables, oil seed, cocoa, and shea nuts. Ghana Food Safety Authority is faced with an inadequate food testing capacity quagmire. This is in reference to equipment, personnel, and the location of the main government laboratory in Accra, serving the whole

safety be addressed to all who are affected by it.

**5.1. Food safety legislation in Ghana**

put toward this endeavor.

country [5].

Most developing countries at least host multinational companies that are crucial and that serve a niche market. This includes the likes of Coca Cola, Unilever, Mars Incorporated, and Wrigley's among others. These are companies whose food safety management systems are extremely strict. In most cases, they are more focused on the use of their internal standards and auditing techniques than they do rely on the inspections mounted by governments. They have systems replete with a robust backup and huge capacity in terms of laboratories, personnel and necessary logistics. Unfortunately, in the developing countries, these lie and operate side by side with the uncoordinated; unregulated street food supply chain that indeed are greater sources of food especially for the urban, poor and middle class dwellers. The existence of the two tier-food safety operations in the developing economies: the multinationals and the local startups, is a phenomenon that must be harnessed as a learning point to enable food

Food Safety Legislation in Some Developing Countries http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75587 25

#### **3.9. Epidemiological surveillance**

One of the key hurdles to success of food safety legislations is dealing with unreported cases, of illnesses and deaths that arise from food-related illnesses. There must be a link and a close one at that between the food safety enforcing bodies, and the public health departments. Not just that countries must strive to strengthen the epidemiological data collection tools, but also the consumers ought to be well informed about the procedures and benefits of reporting every case even to including suspected cases.

#### **3.10. Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) membership**

Membership to CAC is voluntary as well as adoption of its standards. It focuses on ensuring consumer safety and promotion of trade. The CAC's legislation should only be a bare minimum and since they are based on science, they avail the platform that supports countries to provide safe and nutritious foods to their domestic as well as for international market. On this score over 50 African countries are members of CAC and this puts them at a platform to engage on food safety legislation [4].
