World Food Safety Day 2023 webinar | Less sticks, more carrots: New directions for improving food safety in informal markets in low- and middle-income countries

Informal food markets are important sources of affordable, nutritious food for millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. However, a large part of the public health burden of foodborne disease is associated with foods that are handled and sold by informal food processors and vendors. 

In most low- and lower middle-income countries, informal food markets will remain important for food and nutritional security for the foreseeable future. And, under a ‘business as usual’ scenario, we might even expect the problem of unsafe food in this sector to worsen rather than improve over time.  

To be more effective in addressing unsafe food in informal markets, there is a need for a shift in mind-sets, and a very different, multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional and spatially focused approach which deals with the complex capacity- and incentive-related constraints associated with informal markets. 

This webinar will launch a new report on food safety in the informal sector in low- and middle-income countries and discuss various ongoing initiatives where elements of the recommended approach are being tested. The report—New directions for tackling food safety risks in the informal sector of developing countries—was commissioned by the International Livestock Research Institute.  

Register for the webinar to learn more about the report and hear reactions from food safety experts on the report’s recommendations. 

Date: Wednesday 7 June 2023 

Time: 0900–1030 hours Eastern Daylight Time // 1300–1430 hours Greenwich Mean Time // 1600–1730 hours East Africa Time 

Link to register: https://ilri-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wVEmkmr7SKuU_iCkg5LT_w  

Speakers 

• Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General, International Livestock Research Institute
• Julian Lampietti, Manager for Global Engagement, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank
• Steven Jaffee, Lecturer, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland and co-author of the report
• Delia Grace, Professor of Food Safety Systems, Natural Resources Institute and Joint-appointed Scientist, International Livestock Research Institute
• Simone Moraes Raszl, Scientist, Multisectoral Action in Food Systems, World Health Organization
• Pawan Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Food Future Foundation, and former Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
• Markus Lipp, Senior Food Safety Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Amare Ayalew, Program Manager, Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa, African Union Commission
• Nika Larian, Food Loss and Waste Advisor, Center for Nutrition, United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Resilience and Food Security