Promoting Food Safety in the Informal Markets of Low and Middle-Income Countries: The Need for a Rethink

This article is an overview of the food safety challenges in the informal sector of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially those in sub-Saharan Africa and large parts of Asia. New strategic approaches are clearly needed to address these challenges. The informal sector, comprising large numbers of small vendors, processors, and foodservice operators, remains a vital component of the food systems in most LMICs. The informal sector is critically important for providing affordable access to fresh, nutritious foods, especially to the poor, even though this sector may also be a source of less nutritious foods. However, food safety problems are ubiquitous in many informal food markets and distribution channels because of the lack of food safety awareness, weak incentives to take necessary actions, and lack of appropriate infrastructure and management capacity. This situation has significant public health implications for many LMICs. In these countries, informal markets typically account for a large proportion of foodborne diseases associated with marketed foods. Current strategies and investments to improve national food control systems, which predominantly focus on the formal sector, are having little impact on the safety of food in the informal sector. To complement national controls, an alternative strategy is needed that is focused on municipal institutions and involves multisectoral interventions and approaches to regulatory delivery that are more appropriate to informal businesses.