EVIDENCE ON FOOD SAFETY MADE MORE ACCESSIBLE

Urban dairy in Hyderabad, India. (Photo credit: ILRI/S.Mann)

Despite being preventable, foodborne disease is becoming more common- especially in developing countries- and unfortunately, this trend is likely to continue.

A growing body of evidence indicates that ingesting contaminated food or drink not only causes gastrointestinal symptoms, but can also lead to chronic, life-threatening symptoms including neurological, gynecological, or immunological disorders, as well as multi-organ failure, cancer and death.

But this is not just a health issue. Foodborne diseases impacts export market access as well as domestic markets.

A team of food safety experts, including A4NH’s flagship leader on agriculture-associated diseases, Dr. Delia Grace of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), are trying to make it easier for advisors and decisionmakers to do something about this growing-but-preventable problem.

A new peer-reviewed learning resource produced by ILRI and Evidence on Demand offers a comprehensive overview of current evidence on foodborne disease in developing countries, a summary of interventions to manage it, and information about the trends, drivers, and impacts of these diseases.

The resource was specifically designed for readers less familiar with the subject, thus providing ‘non-food safety experts’ with a good understanding of foodborne disease within the broader context of development discussions.

The material presented in this resource reviews foodborne disease in developing countries, including:

• the likely burden of foodborne disease;
• the importance of foodborne disease to developing countries;
• the causes of foodborne disease and the most risky foods;
• trends in foodborne disease; and lastly,
• the proper management of foodborne disease.

You may download the resource on the Evidence on Demand website or view it below.