Safe Food, Fair Food: Summary of findings within lowland goat and

sheep value chains in EthiopiaBarbara Rischkowsky, Tamsin Dewé, Kristina Rösel,

Multi-stakeholder Workshop for Targeting Action Research on Lowland Sheep and Goat Value Chains in Ethiopia

Debre Zeit 1-2April 2013

Safe Food, Fair Food

Protecting the health of poor consumers

and Safeguarding livelihoods of poor livestock

keepers and other value chain actors

Background

Looking at risks to food safety and nutrition within sheep and goat value chains

Trying to identify opportunities for further research and intervention

Ultimate goal is to ensure adequate intake of safe and nutritious foods, while protecting the livelihoods of poor value chain actors

Activities

Rapid assessment conducted alongside rapid VCA at each site

Participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) with producer and consumer groups

Also focus group discussions (FGDs) with mothers of young children

Topics included animal health, consumption patterns, food preparation, and perceptions of quality and safety of meat and milk

Results: both sites

Sheep and goat meat consumption – Very similar between sites– Peaks at major national and religious festivals– Low in intervening periods

Results: both sites Risks to safety of sheep and goat meat

– Emergency slaughter and consumption of diseased animals can occur

– Purchase of meat from informal markets Risk mitigation

– Don’t eat animals affected by specific diseases– Smell, colour and absence of pus/lesions used to

assess quality and safety– Cooking of ‘suspect’ meat thoroughly

Results: both sites Sheep and goat milk consumption

– Consumption seasonal: depends on combination of lambing/kidding and feed availability

Results: both sites

Risks to safety of sheep and goat milk– Consumption of raw milk

Risk mitigation– Smoking milking containers– Don’t consume milk that is

discoloured or contains blood or pus

– Processing to butter

Results: Borena Sick animals Deaths

Results: Borena Risky food practices

– Consumption of dead animals, even if suspected of anthrax

– Consumption of milk with sour or abnormal taste or smell

– Milk is not boiled at Eloheye– Children given food other than breast milk at

young age (<6 months) Risk mitigation

– Meat considered unsafe is trimmed and/or boiled thoroughly in rural areas

– In town, ‘suspect’ meat is not purchased– Milk is sieved to remove dirt and hair

Nutritional issues– Producers consume more meat and milk than

those at other sites– Town people do not always have access

Results: Shinelle Sick animals Deaths

Results: Shinelle

Risky food practices– Consumption of animals with FMD

or tick-related disease– Purchase of meat from informal

markets– Consumption of raw milk

Risk-mitigating practices– Only healthy animals slaughtered

otherwise– Dead animals not consumed– Urban consumers avoid ‘suspect’

meat– Meat cooked thoroughly– Processing of milk into butter

Conclusions Meat

– Increased frequency of consumption compared to other sites

– Especially risky practices (raw meat, sick or dead animals) in Borena

– Better if all meat and offal is well-cooked - some loss of nutritional quality, but large reduction in risks

– Role of informal butchers at both sites Milk

– Boiling milk is a simple message to convey to reduce foodborne disease

– Less consumption whole shoat milk in towns/cities

Safe Food, Fair Food

Tamsin Dewé, Consultant tamsindewe@gmail.com

Kristina Rösel, Project Co-Ordinatork.rosel@cgiar.org

All photo credits to ILRI/ Tamsin Dewé unless otherwise indicated