FOOD SAFETY FROM FARM TO FORK.

 FOOD SAFETY

Governments must play active role in food safety.

  Governments have an important role to play in food safety to ensure it gets the attention and investment it deserves, according to a senior food standards officer with the Codex Alimentarius secretariat..

  This means that a government needs to have a strong food control system. For many countries this is still a challenge, they are still working toward having the appropriate infrastructure not only to establish regulations for food but to implement them and help food producers to know what they are supposed to do. 

  They can also play a role in bringing together the different players and sectors along the food chain and making sure everyone is aware of the importance of food safety,” Cahill said.

   WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said every year unsafe food is responsible for thousands of deaths, which are all preventable.

  “This year’s World Food Safety Day is a reminder that we can all play a role in making food safer. From the time food is grown and transported to when people are shopping and preparing meals each of these is a chance to prioritize food safety. 

     “Food production is a chain of events, it starts even before the farm as some of the inputs such as animal feed also contribute to the safety of food. We have to look at what happens at the farm, what happens after that in terms of harvesting, what happens then in terms of processing and transformation of the crops or animal products and then the transportation and retail sectors.

    At all of those points there is an opportunity for our food to be contaminated and become unsafe.

How technology is transforming Africa’s agricultural industry.

How technology is transforming Africa’s agricultural industry. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) is reporting that close to 70% of the population is involved in agriculture as smallholder farmers working on parcels of land that are, on average, less than 2 hectares. Given those statistics, the importance of agriculture at the heart of conversations on Africa’s economy’s journey cannot be overemphasized. The World Bank estimates that Africa’s food market will be worth $1 trillion by 2030 up from the current $300 billion. In addition, the continent’s food import bill, the latest trends show, stands anywhere between $30–50 billion. How technology is transforming Africa’s agricultural industry.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to grow garlic.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to grow garlic. Garlic can grow well at an altitude of between 500-2000 metres above sea level. The right temperatures for garlic are between 12-24 degrees celsius. Extremely high temperatures are not suitable for garlic production. Excess humidity and rainfall interferes with proper garlic development, including bulb formation. Garlic. The crop is grown in low rainfall areas where irrigation can be practised, especially in early stages when the plant requires enough water to growth. Adequate sunlight is important for bulb development. Garlic develops its flavour depending on sunlight conditions during growth. Garlic. AGRIBUSINESS: How to grow garlic. Garlic requires a fertile, well drained, light soil. Clay soils should be avoided since they lead to poor bulb development. Soil pH should be between 5.5 to 6.8. Deep soil cultivation is important to ensure rooting depth. see

Understanding and preventing respiratory disease in poultry.

Understanding and preventing respiratory disease in poultry. Respiratory disease is a serious threat to the poultry industry. Each year, it determines for many producers the difference between making a profit and suffering a loss. If the birds are showing signs of infection, a producer may respond with medication. But all too often, the birds with respiratory disease exhibit no signs of infection other than underperformance. Respiratory disease is not a single virus or bacteria; it generally is a complex of both, making prevention and treatment more complicated. Even though farmers are vaccinating most flocks, respiratory lesions still turn up at slaughter on a regular basis; and these defects hurt weight gain and carcass quality.#respiratory The primary culprit in respiratory disease is ammonia, which is a result of moisture reacting with poultry droppings in the litter. Ammonia destroys the cilia (hair like projects that trap dust and other particles) in the chicken’s trachea. This leads to erosion of the tracheal lining. The irritated tracheal lining is more susceptible to infection by viruses or bacteria, and this can cause additional destruction of the trachea. Finally, E. coli bacteria from the litter can get into the trachea and result in air sacculitis. #poultry The basic way to control ammonia is keep the litter dry and remove ammonia with ventilation.Understanding and preventing respiratory disease in poultry.