Seafood is a critical source of nutrition in Senegal, especially among populations with low incomes. Post-catch processing, distribution and retailing are also a source of employment and income; in addition to fresh seafood sold near the point of catch, a significant amount gets processed (salted and smoked) and sold further inland and cross-border to neighboring countries. This important commodity for Senegal’s food security comes with important public health and food safety challenges. Many handling practices along the supply chain — cleaning, smoking, salting, drying, transporting and retailing — can contribute to loss of potential nutrients for consumers as well as losses of income and profit to businesses. In addition, poor food safety practices set the stage for transmission of food borne pathogens.

From March–July 2020, Business Drivers for Food Safety (BD4FS) carried out an assessment of conditions in Senegal that affect the ability of supply-chain actors — fisherfolk, fish processors, fishmongers, vendors, technology suppliers and transporters — to adopt food safety practices. The initial focus for this Food Safety Situational Analysis (FSSA) was the artisanal fisheries sector, although some of our key findings also have relevance for other perishable food groups popular to Senegalese consumers. The steps in this analysis include desk research, appraisal of the artisanal fishery supply chain from post-capture to retail, field observations, interviews with local stakeholders and review of previous interventions in the sector. 

In addition to documenting the threats to public health presented by traditional handling of seafood catch, BD4FS also interviewed key actors in the private sector to better understand the constraints that businesses face to adopting food safety practices (financial, technological, regulatory, etc.). These findings are the subject of this report and will be used in the next phase of the BD4FS Senegal project implementation. BD4FS will co-design possible solutions and explore the “drivers” for adopting food safety improvements alongside formal and informal supply-chain actors. BD4FS will monitor the implementation, adoption and outcomes of varying solutions to assess which have the greatest potential for impacting the development of food systems by reducing loss and incidence of food-borne pathogens that provide consumers with safe and nutritious food choices.

You can find the full report in the sidebar.