Why food safety is critical to food security in fragile and conflict-affected states

By Nabil Hayel Saeed Anam and Niels Hougaard

As we mark World Food Safety Day, we look back on a year characterised by multiple food crises.

It is estimated that 205 million people in 45 countries experienced acute food insecurity in 2022, a number that has nearly doubled since 2016. With further complications in the food supply chain caused by ongoing high fertilizer prices and increasingly frequent climate shocks, the outlook for the world’s food systems remains bleak.

In the context of these concerning statistics, it might be easy to dismiss food safety as an isolated matter that solely relates to an organisation’s adherence to appropriate food standards in manufacturing and distribution.

This approach would fail to appreciate the integral role that food safety plays in food security, however.

Indeed, food safety lies at the heart of the definition of food security, as set out by the Food and Agriculture Organization: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit, 1996, emphasis added).

Food safety is also central to one of the pillars of food security: utilisation, which refers to the way in which food is prepared and the extent to which it meets an individual’s dietary needs.

It is clear from these definitions that without food safety there can be no food security.

Nowhere in the world is this truer than in fragile and conflict-affected states, which accounted for 22 out of the 23 hunger hotspots identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2022, despite being home to only a quarter of the world’s population.

In such complex crisis environments, both food security and food safety are more likely to be compromised. This is due to the often multi-dimensional and protracted nature of the crises that FCS face, which include:

• Damage to critical infrastructure such as power and transport networks, resulting in extended journey times and compromised refrigeration for perishable goods
• Lack of access to clean water due to increasingly frequent climate events including droughts, flooding and storms, compromising food preparation if water is left untreated
• Food affordability crises in import-dependent countries arising from domestic inflation coupled with record-high global food prices. In its recent consumer market research, HSA Group noted changes in consumer purchasing habits including increased purchases of loose, unpackaged goods that may be unsafe for consumption

To address these complex challenges, we must consider food safety in the context of the role it plays in food security. It is of course possible to improve food safety by adhering to internationally-recognised standards of quality and safety, but it is also possible to improve it through a thorough understanding of the unique challenges faced by the communities we serve and responding directly to these.

Over the past 8 years, Yemen has experienced one of the world’s worst food crises, affecting all aspects of food security: from availability and affordability to utilisation and stability. Today, approximately half of the population are unable to meet their minimum food needs and 13 million people receive food aid.

In response to these challenges, both HSA Group and Tetra Pak have been able to facilitate critical projects across public health, nutrition and infrastructure:

• School feeding programme: HSA Group and Tetra Pak have recently announced a School Feeding Programme, which will provide a source of safe nutrition for 10,000 children in Yemeni schools. During this critical time for mental and physical growth, the children will receive milk fortified with nutrients that has an extended shelf-life of up to 12 months, thanks to Tetra Pak’s aseptic packaging technology, which can withstand transportation pressures and severe weather conditions. The programme provides a safer alternative to school kitchen provisions, which regularly lack adequate storage facilities. Many of Yemen’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities have also been compromised due to the ongoing conflict, thus limiting the ability of schools to prepare food safely. The programme, therefore, supports Yemeni schools in providing safe, nutritional goods to the children.
• Infrastructure repair: During its 85 years’ operating in Yemen, HSA Group has sought to leverage its deep understanding of its home market. By investing in repair and rehabilitation projects where they are needed most, HSA Group has sought to unlock the potential of the Yemeni people: restoring over 140 roads and bridges to ensure that food deliveries, particularly perishable items, arrive before their expiry date. HSA Group has also implemented a nationwide emergency water trucking project, which has delivered over 1.8 billion gallons of clean water to communities, helping them to prepare food with confidence.
• Adapting packaging sizes: HSA Group has also adapted the sizing of its ghee, cooking oil, pasta and biscuit products, enabling consumers to purchase smaller quantities at one time, thus spreading the cost of purchases across longer time periods, removing the need to resort to loose, unpackaged products, and avoiding spoilage of larger open containers when access to refrigeration can be limited.
• Packaging Technology: Tetra Pak has embraced smart packaging solutions that incorporate digital technologies to enhance food safety, enabling real-time monitoring of a product’s condition during storage and transportation. To further address these challenges, Tetra Pak has also pioneered aseptic technology, which allows food to be stored without refrigeration for extended periods, reducing the need for preservatives.
• Quality Control Services: In addition to its packaging innovations, Tetra Pak has developed advanced quality control systems to ensure the integrity and safety of packaged food. Tetra Pak is committed to ensuring the highest level of safety for its products and offers food safety services to support its customers in maintaining high-quality standards.

While food safety will remain the highest priority in our manufacturing of food and packaging across the world, it is also much more than that. Food safety is integral to the entire food security landscape and has a critical role to play in the provision of safe and nutritious food for all.

As we look ahead to an uncertain future for food systems everywhere, we hope to continue to support people through the power of partnership and thank all our partners for the commitment they have shown to improving food security in communities across the world.

Nabil Hayel Saeed Anam is the Managing Director of Hayel Saeed Anam Yemen (HSA Yemen), Yemen’s largest and leading company, and a Board Member of HSA Group, the family-owned conglomerate established in Yemen in 1938 and today one of the largest multinational businesses based in the Middle East.

Niels Hougaard is the Managing Director of Tetra Pak Arabia Area.