FOOD INSECURITY, AFRICA WORST HIT—REPORT

More than half of the 135 million food insecure people of the world are in Africa, so says the Global Network Against Food Crises in a report released today,21 April 2020. The affected population in Africa is put at 73 million, raising a serious scare and scandal !!!

Please read on:

Four years ago, the EU, FAO and WFP created the Global Network Against Food Crises. Together with its partners, the Global Network – an international alliance working to address the root causes of extreme hunger – released the latest figures on how many people are facing acute hunger and malnutrition in crisis prone countries, in a new edition of its annual report, the Global Report on Food Crises.

Alongside the report, Network’s partners issued a statement outlining their collective commitment to respond to multiplying food crises across the globe that are now being compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their plan to protect and strengthen food systems in the post-pandemic world. The 4th Global Reporton Food Crises gives consensual, evidenced-based information on food crises. The report and supporting messages and contents are made available via a digital campaign under the hashtag:

Source= Francois Stepman,  Paepard

21 April, 2020

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FOOD RECALLS AND OUTBREAKS, WHAT’S THE MEANING ?

Recalls and Outbreaks

Recalls

Recent Recalls

Real-time notices of recalls and alerts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are listed in the widget. Click on items within the widget for more information on a specific recall or alert.

If the product details in the recall notice match the details on the food product you have at home, do not open or consume the product. Instead, do one of the following:

  • Return the product to the place of purchase for a refund.
  • Dispose of the product following the instructions provided in the recall notice to make sure no one will consume it.

Use the recalls widget on your website to notify your users about the latest food safety recalls and alerts. Click on the “Embed” button and copy and paste the code in your web page. When new alerts and recalls are issued, the widget will be automatically updated.

Food Safety Recalls

What is a Food Recall?

A food recall is when a food producer takes a product off the market because there is reason to believe that it may cause consumers to become ill. In some situations, government agencies may request a food recall. Food recalls may happen for many reasons, including but not limited to:

  • Discovery of organisms, including bacteria such as Salmonella or parasites such as Cyclospora.
  • Discovery of foreign objects such as broken glass or metal.
  • Discovery of a major allergen that does not appear on the product label.

What to Do with a Recalled Product

A food product that has been recalled due to a possible germ contamination or illness, can leave germs around your kitchen and contaminate surfaces, including the drawers and shelves in your refrigerator.

If you’ve already prepared a recalled food item in your kitchen or still have it in your refrigerator, it’s important to throw out the food and clean your kitchen.

  • Wash all cookware and utensils (including cutting boards) with hot soapy water.
  • Clear off counters and refrigerator drawers and shelves and wash them with hot soapy water.
  • Then wipe any surfaces, shelves, or drawers and rinse dishes and cookware with a sanitizing solution and let them air dry. You can use a diluted bleach solution (1 TBSP unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water).
  • Products recalled due to an undeclared allergen may be a risk for anyone in your household with an allergy to that substance. If the product has never been served, throw it away or return it for a refund. If the product has been served, wash with soap and water any surfaces – plates, pots and pans, utensils, and counters – with which the product may have had contact.

Learn more about how to clean your refrigerator because of a food recall.

Outbreaks

Recent Outbreaks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posts food safety alerts and investigation notices for multistate foodborne disease outbreaks. Click on the link below for a list of the latest outbreaks.

CDC Multistate Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

What Is an Outbreak?

A foodborne outbreak occurs when two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink. When an outbreak is detected, public health and regulatory officials work quickly to collect as much information as possible to find out what is causing it so they can take action to prevent more people from getting sick. This action includes warning the public when there is clear and convincing information linking illness to a contaminated food. Federal, state and local officials may investigate an outbreak, depending on how widespread it is.

Resources

Separate government agencies are responsible for protecting different segments of the food supply. Click on an agency’s page below to see more information on recalls and outbreaks. Your state or local public health agency may also list state-specific recalls and outbreak alerts on their websites.

CDC Foodborne Outbreaks

FDA Recalls, Outbreaks & Emergencies

Source=https://www.foodsafety.gov/recalls-and-outbreaks
            =www.cdc.gov/foodsafety
01 April, 2020

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WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY 2020, IN SPITE OF COVID-19

The second World Food Safety Day (WFSD) will be celebrated on 7 June 2020 to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage food borne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.

Following the success of the first celebration in 2019, this year again WFSD reinforces the call to strengthen commitment to scale up food safety made by the Addis Ababa Conference and the Geneva Forum in 2019 under the umbrella of “The Future of Food Safety”.  WHO, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to facilitate Member States efforts to celebrate the World Food Safety Day.

Under the theme “Food safety, everyone’s business”, the action oriented campaign will promote global food safety awareness and call upon countries and decision makers, the private sector, civil society, UN organizations and the general public to take action.

Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers and consumers.  Everybody has a role to play from farm to table to ensure the food we consume is safe and will not cause damages to our health.  Through the World Food Safety Day, WHO pursues its efforts to mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally

Calls to action

1 – Ensure it’s safe – Government must ensure safe and nutritious food for all

2 – Grow it safe – Agriculture and food producers need to adopt good practices

3 – Keep it safe – Business operators must make sure food is safe

4 – Eat it safe: All consumers have a right to safe, healthy and nutritious food

5 – Team up for safety – Food Safety is a shared responsibility

 

Joint FAO/WHO World Food Safety Day Campaign page


Contact:

foodsafety@who.int

food-quality@fao.org

01 April 2020

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FAO DG: Don’t let Covid-19 become hunger game

  • We must face the challenge: an enormous risk that food may not be made available where it is needed (Photo: Bernard Hermant)

By

The Covid-19 pandemic is putting enormous strains on the public health systems around the world, and millions of people in the world’s most advanced economies are in some form of quarantine.

We know the human toll will be high, and that massive efforts to turn the tide carry a heavy economic cost.

To reduce the risk of an even greater toll – shortage of food for millions, even in affluent countries – the world must take immediate actions to minimise disruptions to food supply chains.

A globally coordinated and coherent response is needed to prevent this public health crisis from triggering a food crisis in which people cannot find or afford food.

For now, Covid-19 has not entailed any strain on food security, despite anecdotal reports of crowded supermarket sieges.

While there’s no need for panic – there is enough supply of food in the world to feed everyone – we must face the challenge: an enormous risk that food may not be made available where it is needed.

The Covid-19 outbreak, with all the accompanying closures and lockdowns, has created logistical bottlenecks that ricochet across the long value chains of the modern global economy.

Restrictions of movement, as well as basic aversion behaviour by workers, may impede farmers from farming and food processors (who handle most agricultural products) from processing.

Shortage of fertilisers, veterinary medicines and other input could also affect agricultural production.

From Manhattan to Manila

Closures of restaurants and less frequent grocery shopping diminish demand for fresh produce and fisheries products, affecting producers and suppliers, especially smallholder farmers, with long-term consequences for the world’s increasingly urbanised population, be they in Manhattan or Manila.

Uncertainty about food availability can induce policymakers to implement trade restrictive measures in order to safeguard national food security.

Given the experience of the 2007-2008 global food price crisis, we know that such measures can only exacerbate the situation.

Export restrictions put in place by exporting countries to increase food availability domestically could lead to serious disruptions in the world food market, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.

In 2007-2008, these immediate measures proved extremely damaging, especially for low income food deficit countries and to the efforts of humanitarian organisations to procure supplies for the needy and vulnerable.

We should all learn from our recent past and not make the same mistakes twice.

Policy makers must take care to avoid accidentally tightening food-supply conditions.

While every country faces its own challenges, collaboration – between governments and the full gamut of sectors and stakeholders – is paramount. We are experiencing a global problem that requires a global response.

We must ensure that food markets are functioning properly and that information on prices, production, consumption and stocks of food is available to all in real time.

This approach will reduce uncertainty and allow producers, consumers, traders and processors to make informed decisions and to contain unwarranted panic behaviour in global food markets.

The health impacts of the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic on some of the poorest countries are still unknown. Yet, we can say with certainty that any ensuing food crisis as a result of poor policy making will be a humanitarian disaster that we can avert.

We already have 113 million people experiencing acute hunger; in sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population is undernourished. Any disruptions to food supply chains will intensify both human suffering and the challenge of reducing hunger around the world.

We must do everything possible to not let that happen. Prevention costs less.

Global markets are critical for smoothening supply and demand shocks across countries and regions, and we need to work together to ensure that disruptions of food supply chains are minimised as much as possible.

Covid-19 forcefully reminds us that solidarity is not charity, but common sense.

Author bio

QU Dongyu is the director-general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

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GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 2020

New England Biolabs Foundation — Grants for Grassroots Conservation 2020

The New England Biolabs Foundation makes grants to grassroots and charitable organizations to support conservation of biological diversity; ecosystem services; community food security; and marine environment. The geographical scope focuses on regions (specified on the website) in Central America; South America, and West Africa. Maximum grant size is US$10 thousand. Most grants are US$3 thousand to US$8 thousand. The deadlines for submission of LOIs are 23 March 2020 and 10 August 2020.

Future Food — Postdoc Fellowships to Young Researchers

Future Food – A Swiss Research Initiative awards up to ten postdoc fellowships each year to further expand research and education in the area of food and nutrition sciences. The fellowship provides personal research funds for three years, enabling fellows to work on their projects in a Swiss research laboratory. Applicants must hold a doctorate (PhD). There is no restriction on nationality. The deadline for applications via the online form is 31 March 2020

MCF@RUFORUM Scholarships 2020/2021

MasterCard Foundation has partnered with the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM; www.ruforum.org), a network of 125 universities in 38 African countries to Transform African Agricultural Universities (TAGDev) to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development. The aim of the partnership is to transform African agricultural universities and their graduates to better respond to developmental challenges through enhanced application of science, technology, business and innovation for rural agricultural transformation. Under this partnership, 110 undergraduate and 110 Masters Scholarships will be provided over a period of eight years. The scholarships target academically deserving yet economically disadvantaged, marginalized communities and those coming from conflict and post conflict areas of Africa. The scholarships are tenable at Egerton University in Kenya and Gulu University in Uganda. Students enrolled under this scholarship program will receive comprehensive scholarships, leadership development, life skills support, entrepreneurship training and mentorship and exposure to community engagement. For the academic year 2020/2021, thirty (30) Master’s Scholarships are available, of which 50% will be for Kenya and Uganda nationals. Fifty percent (50%) of the scholarships will be awarded female applicants. The deadline to apply for the MCF@RUFORUM Scholarships is 31st March 2020 at 17:00 Hours (GMT+3).

OWSD PhD Fellowships

The Fellowship is offered to women scientists from science- and technology-lagging countries (STLCs) to undertake PhD research in the natural, engineering and information technology sciences at a host institute in another developing country in the Global South. Deadline for submission: 31 March 2020.

NextWorldNow Community Investments — Community Grants 2020

NextWorldNow (NWN) is committed to working with community leaders who are solving difficult social problems. This includes social problems related to water, sanitation, deforestation, smallholder productivity, and food security — among other subject areas. Grants are up to US$10 thousand. To apply, community organizations submit a short “Notification of Interest” to register their intent to submit a formal grant application. NWN will screen the initial requests and forward a full application form to selected community organizations. The deadline to submit a Notification of Interest is 31 March 2020.

Latvian State Education Development Agency — Scholarships 2020/2021

The Latvian State Education Development Agency offers scholarships to foreign students, researchers and teaching staff for studies, research and participation in summer schools in Latvian higher education institutions (HEIs) for the academic year 2020/2021. Study programs include Agriculture, Environmental Science, Forestry, Energy, among others. The scholarship amount varies from €500 to €670 per month, depending on the program. Eligibility extends to countries that signed an agreement on cooperation in education and science (detailed in the announcement). The deadline for application is 01 April 2020

IDEX Accelerator — IDEX Fellowship 2020

IDEX invites applications worldwide for its Fellowship Program 2020. The Fellowships build the capacity of young professionals for social enterprise in areas such as agriculture, education, clean energy, sanitation, healthcare, livelihoods, and impact investing. The program provides six months of leadership training in enterprise development, including field placements at social enterprises in India. Candidates should be 21 to 35 years old, with a minimum of one to three years of professional work experience. IDEX offers a limited number of full and partial scholarships to select candidates. The application deadline is 05 April 2020.

Indian National Academy of Sciences — JRD-Tata Fellowships for Visiting Scientists from Developing Countries

India’s National Science Academy administers the JRD-Tata Fellowships to support visiting scientists from the developing world and promote South-South cooperation. The program is open to applicants from developing countries (except India) younger than age 45, and who possess doctorate or masters degrees in science or equivalent degrees in engineering/medicine. Past participants have included several in agriculture, biological sciences, and geo-sciences. The fellowship is for three months and includes transportation, maintenance allowance, accommodation, and contingencies. The application deadlines are 30 April and 31 October of each year

International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology — Research Grants 2020

The ICGEB Research Grants support projects in agricultural biotechnology, environmental bio-remediation, and many other fields. The grants are intended to facilitate the creation of research facilities in promising institutes; to promote training of young scientists; and to develop new research programs in participating countries. The program is open to applicants who have positions at universities and research institutes in ICGEB’s member states. Grants are a maximum of €25 thousand per year for projects of up to three years. The deadline for submitting applications is 30 April 2020

Nestlé Foundation — Human Nutrition in Developing Countries 2020

The Nestlé Foundation supports research in human nutrition in low-income and lower middle-income countries. In relation to agriculture, the Foundation will consider research on food policy, food production, and food technology if the intervention has high potential for improved nutritional status and public health. The Foundation offers training grants, pilot grants, and full project grants. Priority is for proposals submitted by researchers in developing countries, or jointly with partners in developed countries. A Letter of Intent (LOI) can be submitted at any time of the year. The deadlines for full grant applications are 10 January and 10 May 2020.

Teach A Man To Fish — School Enterprise Challenge 2020

The School Enterprise Challenge is an international business program for schools run by the educational charity Teach A Man To Fish. It guides and supports teachers and students to plan and set up real, sustainable school businesses and generate real profits to help support their school or a social cause of their choice. Thematic areas include agriculture, drinking water and sanitation, and the environment, among others. Prizes are between US$250 and US$5 thousand, including in-kind donations like laptops and cameras. Please note that only pre-primary schools, primary schools, secondary schools and technical/vocational colleges are eligible (universities are not eligible to apply). The deadlines for project submission are 20 February, 20 May, 20 August, and 20 November 2020.

Good luck

 

DF

March 2020

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