The urgency and attention that Europe has accorded the E. coli outbreak ought to provide lessons for Africa whose gaps in the food safety system raise concerns. EU scientists have conducted tests to determine the origin and extend of the outbreak while farm ministers have held emergency talks to agree financial aid for fruit and vegetable producers hit by the outbreak.

FoodAfrica’s observation in Improving Food Systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Responding to a Changing Environment that access to information on international food standards, enforcement of food standards and access to accredited laboratories that provide reliable food safety information is difficult for individuals is alarming.

Recently, four children hailing from the same family died after eating poisonous vegetables in central Malawi. In Uganda’s Rukungiri District, a six-year-old boy died and four others were hospitalised after eating poisonous cassava. A child died and two others were admitted to a hospital in Kenya’s Makueni County after eating poisonous cassava bought at a nearby market. Cases abound of unscrupulous business people collaborating with law enforcers to import aflatoxin infested maize.

Since no nation can achieve developmental goals if it is plagued by a sick people, Africa must take seriously the health of its citizens. The continent must define food safety legislation which respond to both global and domestic challenges; sensitize consumers and food handlers about food safety; give the informal food processing sector specific attention since it provides a significant proportion of food consumed in many of sub-Saharan Africa’s cities and coordinate local authorities, food standards and regulatory bodies.

While actions like Nigeria’s forming of a multi-disciplinary National Food Safety Management Committee to oversee food safety and quality control measures ought to be hailed, closer regional harmonisation of standards will help restrict the volume of poor quality food in circulation.