Food safety is something that many people don’t think about until it’s too late. Yet over 420,000 people die around the world from contaminated food every year, nearly a third of them are children.
The problem is especially serious in Africa. More than 91 million people fall sick from unsafe food each year, 137,000 of them fatally–the highest incidence of foodborne illness in the world. This also results in the loss of roughly $16 billion in annual productivity.
Food processing companies play a key role in ensuring that the food they produce is free of pathogens that could sicken consumers. This requires strict standards around manufacturing, hygiene, and safety.
TechnoServe works with food processing companies across Africa to improve awareness and implementation of the best food safety practices. This not only promotes public health, but makes good business sense for the processors, helping them reach new markets, create loyal customers, and expand trade.
Today, on World Food Safety Day, we show how TechnoServe is working to improve food safety with processors in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia through the Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP). Partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the nonprofit consortium Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), and ISF Advisors, TechnoServe helps African food processors improve the nutrition, safety, and quality of their products – and in turn improve food security, public health, economic prosperity, and sustainable development.
