ACAFP Food Safety Summit Sets Bold Agenda to Protect Public Health and Power Africa’s Trade Competitiveness.

By Raymond Enoch.

Africa’s leading food safety experts, policymakers, researchers, and private sector actors have wrapped up the 3rd African Continental Association for Food Protection (ACAFP) Food Safety Conference with a bold call to elevate food safety as a core public health, trade, and economic priority across the continent.

Held on 27 November 2025 at the Ogere Resort in Ogun State, Nigeria, the conference, themed “Enhancing Food Safety Systems for Improved Public Health, Trade Competitiveness and Economic Growth in Africa,” brought together around 200 delegates from across Africa and beyond. Participants were drawn from regional organisations, national governments, international institutions, the private sector, academia, and research and development agencies — all united by a shared ambition to build safer, more resilient food systems for Africa’s 1.4 billion citizens.

Through keynote addresses, plenary debates, technical and poster presentations, as well as exhibitions, delegates dissected the realities and risks that define Africa’s food safety landscape. From microbial contamination and chemical hazards such as mycotoxins, pesticide and antimicrobial residues, to heavy metals and physical contaminants, participants stressed that food safety is not a luxury but a foundational pillar of food security and economic transformation on the continent.

Speakers underlined that Africa currently bears the highest global burden of foodborne diseases, with an estimated 91 million cases and 137,000 deaths annually — a sobering reminder that unsafe food is silently undermining health systems, productivity, and development gains. Against this backdrop, the conference positioned food safety as a cross-cutting issue at the nexus of public health, regional trade, and inclusive economic growth.

A recurring concern was the high cost of testing and laboratory analysis, which remains out of reach for many value chain actors. Delegates called for affordable, reliable, and fit-for-purpose testing methods that can be deployed at different points in the food system, from farm to fork. They highlighted ongoing efforts to develop and validate new detection tools and diagnostics adapted to African realities, enabling countries to better identify food hazards and track foodborne diseases.

Participants also showcased innovations and traditional knowledge aimed at reducing the incidence of food hazards — including processing and preservation techniques used in African fermented foods, as well as the adaptation of non-African methods to lower consumer exposure to dangerous pathogens and contaminants. However, they stressed that these advances will only achieve scale if backed by robust investments, stronger regulatory frameworks, and sustained political will.

One of the most pressing gaps identified is the limited focus on the informal sector, which dominates Africa’s food markets yet often falls outside formal regulatory oversight. Studies shared at the conference revealed that the formal food sector is generally more controlled and monitored than the myriad informal actors — smallholder farmers, market vendors, street food sellers, small processors and aggregators — who feed the majority of African households every day.

Delegates agreed that any credible food safety strategy for Africa must bring the informal sector into the centre of policy design, capacity-building, and enforcement actions. This includes improved stakeholder mapping, awareness campaigns, and the development of evidence-based policies that realistically reflect how food is produced, traded, and consumed in African communities.

Throughout the conference, discussions repeatedly came back to the need for stronger collaboration, smarter partnerships, and more strategic use of limited resources. Researchers, regulators, and private sector leaders highlighted the high cost of food safety research and surveillance and urged governments, development partners, and investors to step up financing to unlock more impactful, data-driven interventions.

Community engagement emerged as a critical lever for change. Delegates emphasized that “Food Safety is Everybody’s Business” and championed the popular slogan: “If you see something, say something.” They advocated for food safety education to extend beyond laboratories, boardrooms, and conference halls into worship centres, marketplaces, schools, and grassroots platforms where behavioural change can truly take root.

The conference also strongly endorsed a One Health approach to food safety, recognising the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, the environment, and food systems. With climate change, urbanisation, and population growth reshaping agricultural and consumption patterns, participants argued that only integrated solutions can safeguard Africa’s food security and health security in the long term.

In a powerful call to action, delegates urged African governments at national and sub-national levels to mainstream food safety into development plans, investment strategies, and regulatory reforms. They called for greater policy attention to ensure that food safety measures are effectively disseminated and implemented at the grassroots level, especially in rural communities and rapidly growing urban centres.

The communiqué further underscored the importance of transforming complex research outputs into simple, usable knowledge for farmers, traders, processors, and aggregators — the underrepresented frontline actors in Africa’s food system. Translating science into practice, participants stressed, is vital to empowering these groups to adopt safer practices and comply with evolving standards.

Financing was highlighted as a make-or-break factor. Delegates appealed to governments, private sector operators, and development financiers to treat food safety as a strategic investment in human capital, trade competitiveness, and economic resilience — not just a cost centre. They urged the inclusion of food safety in national and corporate investment plans, from laboratory infrastructure and surveillance systems to training programmes, innovation platforms, and youth- and gender-sensitive initiatives.

As the 3rd ACAFP Food Safety Conference drew to a close, the message from Ogere was clear: Africa cannot achieve its aspirations for improved public health, stronger intra-African trade, and sustained economic growth without safe food at the core of its agenda. By scaling up collaboration, embracing innovation, and placing communities at the heart of solutions, delegates affirmed that the continent can turn its food safety challenges into a powerful driver of prosperity and well-being for generations to come.