Food Protection Trends - May/June 2022 - 252

Food safety and certification in Cameroon
Cameroon has food safety laws governing food for human
consumption. These laws apply to all business that are
involved in farming, production, manufacturing, preparing,
handling, packaging, storing, and transporting foods that
are sold for human consumption (39). According to the
food safety laws in Cameroon (39), all food producers,
preparers, and distributors selling food to the public must
be registered with the appropriate local authority who is to
inspect food businesses every 3 years and have systems in
place that document the system for the safe production of
food, including the training of personnel (39). However, data
detailing the number of food SMEs in Cameroon that are
registered with the appropriate authorities are lacking.
Despite the existence of food safety laws in Cameroon,
they are not enforced. Many food businesses are not
registered with local authorities. A study highlighted that
among 1,600 street food vendors in southwest Cameroon,
only 30% were registered with the local authority; in
addition, knowledge of food safety and regulation was
critically deficient among such Cameroonian street food
vendors (3). There is an identified lack of data detailing
the number of food processing SMEs that are registered
with the local authority in Cameroon; there is also a lack
of information regarding the documented food safety
management systems implemented by food processing SMEs
as required by law.
Note that currently, an estimated 80% of food for local
consumption sold in sub-Saharan Africa is sold in unregulated
or ineffectively regulated local markets, commonly called
informal markets (25). Informal markets are important for
the economy and culture, as they sell local primary products
and traditional processed foods, and they are vital for those
with low incomes, as they often sell food at lower prices
(25). However, with the rise of urbanization and increasing
incomes in the region, some consumers are regularly
purchasing convenience foods, street food, and food from
supermarkets, leading to a growing demand for safe food and
food safety certification to ensure that their purchased food is
safe (31, 38, 49).
Food safety certification usually involves the implementation
of a food safety management system, such as the hazard
analysis critical control point system, which is then verified
by an independent third-party organization (35). It has
been reported that implementing a food safety management
system can save a food processing business money, increase
customer confidence (47), enhance the image of a company,
provide a competitive edge (18), increase sales, and
strengthen market share (44). In the context of lower and
middle-income countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, it
has been argued that systems such as the hazard analysis critical
control point have been designed to meet the stringent
standards of the countries who import foods from lower and
middle-income countries (49) and are aimed at large food
252 Food Protection Trends May/June
manufacturing countries in Europe or North America who
do not take into account the food production environment
and culture in sub-Saharan Africa (26). There is widespread
belief that many governments in sub-Saharan Africa lack
the resources to design, implement, and enforce food safety
regulatory structures that are fit for SMEs producing food
for local consumption (8, 24, 26, 37, 38). It has also been
argued that businesses that adhere to food safety standards in
sub-Saharan Africa may be able to access the more lucrative
formal markets that may create more jobs and alleviate poverty
(16, 34).
For Cameroon, the website of the government body (5)
that sets food safety standards and certifies food businesses
indicates that only 25 food businesses in Cameroon have been
certified, all of which are large manufacturing businesses.
It is not known how many food processing businesses
there are in Cameroon; it has been reported that there are
approximately 2,500 industrial processing businesses (9).
There are no figures for the number of SME food processing
businesses in Cameroon or how many have registered with
the appropriate authority. Research into this area could help
establish a baseline to understand the barriers that exist for
SME food processors in Cameroon from registering with the
local authority or obtaining food safety certification. Such
data could help inform the development of future support
mechanisms to enhance and improve food safety.
Considering the Cameroon government programs to
encourage the development of new SME food processing
businesses and an initial indication that business are not registering
with the local authorities (3) or being certified (5),
further research is needed to understand the existing support
that is provided, the support that is needed, and any difficulties
SMEs face in accessing the appropriate support.
Research conducted in Zimbabwe (32) and Ghana (2)
concluded that barriers for small businesses for implementing
food safety management systems include lack of finance,
training and knowledge, support from the government-testing
facilities, and infrastructure. These challenges are not
confined to sub-Saharan Africa. A study in the United Kingdom
by Evans and Taylor (18) determined that key barriers
included cost, time, knowledge, and an understanding of
how accreditation would benefit the business. Although
there is a vast difference between the food processing context
in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, research, to examine
if lessons learned in Europe could be adapted for Cameroon,
may be of value.
CONCLUSION
The creation and support of food processing SMEs is a
key strategy for the Cameroon government for alleviating
poverty. It has created three programs that may result in
thousands of new food processing businesses. The support
for these new business in food safety appears to be lacking;
this has the potential to exacerbate the already high levels of
Food Protection Trends - May/June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - May/June 2022
