Addressing another threat to food and feed safety: Conflict
Mycotoxins can have significant health, social, and economic negative consequences, but are often overlooked in discussions about food security. They cause serious health issues like cancers, stunted growth, and weakened immune systems. Mycotoxins also hamper animal productivity and profitability.
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Conflicts around the world, in addition to causing incommensurable human suffering, have negative impacts on both food security and food safety. Many regions affected by conflicts are important for producing staple crops, including wheat, maize, and rice. Disruptions to crop production in these areas force importing countries to find alternatives to meet their food needs, often requiring the growing of these crops in other regions. However, moving to, or increasing production in, tropical or subtropical regions must be done carefully to avoid contamination with mycotoxins, harmful substances produced by various fungal species. Aflatoxins and fumonisins are some of the dangerous substances that commonly contaminate staple crops grown in hot and/or humid areas.
Knock-on effect up and down the chain
It is estimated that 25% of the world’s crop products—and up to 40% in Africa—are contaminated with dangerous mycotoxin concentrations. Additionally, mycotoxins affect trade. Low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) lose millions of dollars in potential exports when crops do not meet international standards. In some cases, farmers are unable to sell their crops even in local or regional markets, which reduces their income and livelihoods. In high-income countries, strict regulations and strong infrastructure help ensure that food with dangerous mycotoxins levels is not consumed. Countries like the USA and those in Europe have rigorous standards and infrastructure in place to protect consumers. However, LMICs lack these same protections, which makes the problem much harder to control. This affects farmers, consumers, and businesses, including food companies and breweries.
Currently, conflicts in countries such as Ukraine, Ethiopia, Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, and many others are severely disrupting food production. The war in Ukraine, for example, has significantly impacted the supply of key crops like wheat, maize, and sunflower, which many countries rely on for food. This disruption has led to food shortages, especially in Africa, where countries must produce the lost crops locally or turn to other suppliers. Such measures often drive-up prices, further exacerbating food insecurity for impoverished populations already struggling to access adequate nutrition.
Mycotoxin exposure
Producing the missing crops in tropical or subtropical areas, where conditions are more conducive to more mycotoxin contamination, can significantly increase mycotoxin exposure. Warmer temperatures and changes in weather patterns are increasing the frequency of mycotoxin contamination. One reason crops coming from Ukraine are relatively safer from aflatoxins and fumonisins, is that the climate there does not support the synthesis of those toxins as in tropical areas. Crops coming from temperate zones (e.g., Ukraine and Russia) may have been stored properly prior to and during transport, and prior to transformation in the importing countries. Therefore, populations in countries importing crops from temperate zones are in principle less exposed to the dangers of mycotoxins. However, when production is moved to, or increased in, regions with higher temperatures and humidity, the risk of contamination increases. On the other hand, transportation challenges during conflicts, such as blocked ports causing prolonged, improper storage of crops in shipping containers, can lead to increased mycotoxin formation, accentuating the food safety risks. In addition to aflatoxins and fumonisins, new exposures to other mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol and zearalenone may emerge if the delayed shipments eventually reach their intended destinations.
Producing crops safely
While conflicts eventually end, to avoid further damage, it is essential to develop strategies for producing crops safely in regions prone to mycotoxin contamination. While it is important to increase food production to meet the populations’ needs, the quality of the food must be protected. Increasing the cultivation of susceptible crops in tropical and subtropical areas requires careful planning and the use of technologies to manage mycotoxins. Integrated strategies involving pre- and post-harvest interventions, proper storage, and improved farming practices can help reduce contamination risks. These strategies have been successfully implemented in some African countries to produce safer food and increase farmers’ income.
The challenge, however, is ensuring that these strategies are implemented on a larger scale. Governments, agricultural organisations, humanitarian agencies, donors, financial institutions, and the private sector must work together to promote food safety and make sure that farmers have access to the tools and the necessary knowledge to reduce mycotoxin contamination. Public-private partnerships are key to scaling up the use of technologies that help control mycotoxins. Governments can support smallholder farmers by offering subsidies or financial incentives to encourage them to adopt the required technologies.
Monitoring strategies
In addition, policies need to be in place and, most importantly, implemented to prevent contaminated crops from being consumed. Some governments and regional organisations in Africa, such as the African Union, EAC, and ECOWAS, have already taken steps to address aflatoxin contamination by creating policies and programmes. However, for these efforts to drive meaningful change, broader adoption and implementation are essential; otherwise, their potential impact on the ground may remain limited. Monitoring and tracking the effectiveness of these strategies is also crucial. Using mobile platforms and digital tools can help farmers and governments predict and track the levels of mycotoxins in crops and adjust practices as needed. Awareness and education campaigns are also essential, as farmers and consumers need to understand the risks associated with mycotoxins and the benefits of implementing food safety strategies, in addition to strategies to increase crop production.
An approach gaining momentum is the Food Convergence Innovation (FCI), which integrates data, technology, and multi-sector collaboration to address food safety challenges like aflatoxins. This food systems approach allows stakeholders to share information and work together to find sustainable solutions. By using a combination of technical, institutional, and policy solutions, value chain participants can be empowered to produce and market safe, high-quality foods while overcoming challenges posed by conflict, climate change, and increased pest and disease pressure.
Policies, technologies and partnerships
In conclusion, conflict in several zones around the world are contributing to both food security and food safety challenges. As production shifts to, and/or increases, in other regions, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas, the risk of mycotoxin contamination increases. To address this, there is the need to develop integrated strategies that ensure food safety while increasing crop production. With appropriate policies, technologies, and partnerships, the impact of mycotoxins can be significantly reduced.
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