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Policy Considerations for the Development and Adoption of Technologies for Local Food Value Chains

The First FAO/WHO/AU International Food Safety Conference Addis Ababa, 12-13 February 2019















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    This fact sheet presents the FISH4ACP programme helping fish processors to find innovative solutions for drying and smoking some of the major catches from Lake Tanganyika such as sardine, sprat and perch in United Republic of Tanzania enabling them to produce more food and increase their incomes.
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    FAO-Thiaroye processing technique: towards adopting improved fish smoking systems in the context of benefits, trade-offs and policy implications from selected developing countries 2019
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    More than 60 percent of global production of smoked fishery products occurs in Africa and Asia, highlighting their tremendous significance in food and nutrition security and as a vehicle for livelihood support in these regions. However, prevailing processing technologies entail significant deleterious health implications for both processors and consumers. The main hazard relates to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to have carcinogenic potential. In response to the PAH challenge and leveraging on the Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice guidelines for preventing their occurrence in smoked and dried products, the FAO-Thiaroye fish processing technique (FTT) was developed under a collaborative research approach between FAO and a fisheries institution in Senegal. To date, the FTT has been introduced in 16 countries. The technique addresses the PAH problem, and yields products that comply with international limits on the hazard, while fostering many social, economic and environmental benefits. However, experience from some African and Asian countries points to the need for a context-driven balance that ensures that the gains associated with its use can be realized without making expensive compromises, especially in terms of fisheries resources status and trade dynamics. Policy and regulatory frameworks need to be informed by a risk-based approach and supportive of consistent benchmarking and differentiation of FTT products. This document reviews the lessons from those countries, and makes the case for a hard, evidence-based, policy backbone to safeguard the sustainable, eco-friendly supply of safe smoked (and dried) fishery products to support food security, particularly in the developing world.
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    Project
    Mainstreaming Nutrition in National and Regional Trade Laws and Regulations of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Promoting Local Food Value Chains for Intra-Sids Trade - TCP/RAF/3707 2021
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    SIDS suffer from the effects of climate change shocks. Cyclones, hurricanes and more erratic rainfall leading to drought, flooding, rising sea levels and eroding coastlines exacerbate already fragile natural environments, making it more difficult to produce sufficient food to meet their needs. Given their geographic and economic isolation, many SIDS rely heavily on remote markets for their food supplies, leading to undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity, the ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition. Diabetes and other non-communicable chronic diseases are at excessive levels in a growing number of SIDS, largely as a result of a diet of processed imported foods that are high in sugar, salt and fats, aggravated by unchecked trade liberalization policies. Although undernutrition has fallen over the past three decades, levels of stunting still exceed 20 percent in children in the poorest SIDS. At the same time, levels of obesity, particularly among women, have increased sharply in many SIDS, including those in Africa. Food imports are an increasingly important source of food availability in most SIDS, despite the poor nutritional quality of many imported foods. Foreign investment in domestic food processing sectors in some SIDS has also contributed to the increased availability, and lower prices, of highly processed foods. The result has been a shift away from traditional, domestic staples, such as fruit and vegetables, towards diets high in processed and animal source foods, sugar, fat and salt. This shift has been identified as a leading driver behind the sharp rise in obesity and micronutrient deficiency in SIDS.

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