Food Protection Trends - September/October 2021 - 486

In 2015, foodborne hazards were responsible for
137,000 deaths and 91 million acute illnesses affecting
African children under the age of 5 (20). The burden of
foodborne illness is most severe in low- and middle-income
African countries. Consumption of unsafe food leads to
gastroenteritis and other food poisoning symptoms, mostly
affecting infants, young children, pregnant women, and the
elderly with a diminished immune system (20). Therefore,
a safe and nutritious food supply is key to a healthy lifestyle.
However, many Africans lack safe and nutritious food (1,
6, 7, 19). Given these limitations, African countries are
slowly adopting global food safety systems and modernizing
international trade. Yet, many countries still lack the
resources, including those from the government sectors, to
ensure safe consumption of food products (1, 6). In such
instances, the Global Food Safety Initiative capacity-building
programs in the African region become beneficial (1, 7).
For the international food trade, food safety standards and
modern practices are reviewed and verified by the importer
to be in compliance. Given these approaches, training,
education, and assessment of laboratory practices are an
essential foundation for a global food safety system (1).
Recently, a study assessed practices and procedures in
African food safety testing laboratories in three African
nations, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Mozambique. Several
issues, such as lab safety, quality assurance, validation of
test methods, sampling protocols, data management, data
analysis, training, and accreditation were addressed (14,
18). Several gaps and issues were identified in laboratory
infrastructure, sample handling, testing methodologies,
data analysis, and professional development (14). General
findings on food standard systems, inspection mechanisms,
and laboratory capabilities of several African Nations can
be found at an annex provided by Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (5). On the basis of the
results, it was determined that identified food safety gaps
and issues could be addressed through face-to-face training
in testing laboratories. Hence, this study aims to develop,
deliver, and evaluate a needs-based curriculum that can be
used to train food safety laboratory personnel in East and
South Africa.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Human subjects research protocols
The institutional review board at Pennsylvania State University
(IRB STUDY00008250) approved the recruitment
process, project design, consent forms, lectures, laboratories,
activities, pre- and postexams, surveys, and handwashing
protocols.
Recruitment process
In 2017, phase I of this study involved an on-site comprehensive
needs assessment of food safety laboratories in East
and South Africa: Ethiopia, Uganda, and Mozambique (14).
486 Food Protection Trends September/October
After approval by Pennsylvania State University Institutional
Review Board, potential employees or personnel from
food safety testing laboratories, identified in phase I of the
study (in-person visit) and located in East and South Africa,
were contacted via e-mail. The interested personnel in those
laboratories who were fluent in English, were 18 years or
older, and who expressed an interest in participating in this
training were recruited for this research project. As a result
of this recruitment process, 19 participants from Ethiopia,
11 participants from Uganda, and 11 participants from
Mozambique completed the training program.
Consent
Personnel from participating food safety testing
laboratories in East and South Africa received a consent
form to be part of the research via e-mail prior to the training
(December 2018) and a paper version of the consent form
in person and on-site from the principal investigator (C. N.
Cutter) in January or February 2019. All participants were
fluent in writing, reading, and speaking English and did not
require additional translation to participate in the program;
additional clarification was provided to participants that
this research would have no impact on employment status.
The consent form disclosed the procedures to be performed,
participation was voluntary, and there were adequate
provisions to maintain the privacy interests of subjects.
Completed consent forms, paper-based surveys, and a
memory card with handwashing videos resulting from the
research will be stored for 3 years, following the completion
of the study, and will be destroyed and/or removed from the
card at that time.
Development and delivery of the Food Safety
Laboratory Workshop
During the needs assessment portion of the study (14),
laboratory personnel expressed interest in improving laboratory
practices via additional training. On the basis of the
needs assessment, we developed a comprehensive curriculum
(Table 1) to address a number of topics, including, but
not limited to, lab safety, quality assurance, validation of
test methods, sampling protocols, management, lab safety
(including handwashing), accreditation, methodologies, data
analyses and interpretation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Table 1 outlines the schedule of the 5-day Food Safety
Laboratory Workshop. The curriculum was administered
in English in each country (Ethiopia, Mozambique, and
Uganda) in Africa in January and/or February 2019. The
workshop included face-to-face instruction and breakout
sessions for laboratory personnel. The first 2 days of the curriculum
were designed to deliver fundamentals of microbiology,
aseptic sampling techniques, and pathogen detection
methods. On the third day, the importance of International
Organization for Standardization and the International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17025 and quality
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