On-site hygiene and biosecurity assessment: A new tool to assess live bird stalls in wet markets

Megatrends and emerging issues: Impacts on food safety

The world is changing at a pace, driven by global megatrends and their interactions. Megatrends, including climate change, the drive for sustainability, an aging population, urbanization, and geopolitical tensions, are producing an increasingly challenging environment for the provision of a safe and secure food supply. To ensure a robust, safe, and secure food supply for all, potential food safety impacts associated with these megatrends need to be understood, and mitigation and management plans must be implemented. This paper outlines the relevant megatrends, discusses their potential impact on food safety, and suggests steps to help ensure the production of safe food in the future. Megatrends are increasingly driving resource depletion, reducing the vitality of plants and animals, increasing the geographical spread of animal and plant pathogens, increasing the risk of mycotoxins, agrichemical residues, and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens contaminating foods, and threatening to destabilize food systems and the food regulatory network. Science-based actions, adopting continual and dynamic risk assessments, alongside the use of more sensitive and accurate methods for the detection of contaminants, may counter these challenges. The use of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, the enhancement of food safety cultures, the continued education and training of workforces, and the implementation of risk-based food regulations will help ensure preventative controls are in place. As low-income countries and smallholder farmers are more likely to be exposed to the impact of these megatrends and less likely to have resources to counter them, geographical social inequality, unrest, and population migration are likely to be exacerbated unless urgent action is taken.

Comparative analyses of bacterial contamination and microbiome of broiler carcasses in wet market and industrial processing environments

The slaughtering environment is crucial for the food hygiene and safety of poultry products. Despite the global dominance of industrial processing, live bird slaughtering in wet markets persists due to cultural, religious, and economic reasons. This study aims to reveal the correlation between hygiene scales in wet markets and bacterial contamination levels on broiler carcasses, with a particular focus on pathobiont transmission risks and microbiome characteristics. Wet markets were categorized based on home-made ratings and the Hygiene and Biosecurity Assessment Tool (HABT). The study assessed total aerobic bacterial (TAB) levels, food spoilage and hygiene indicators (Pseudomonas and E. coli), foodborne pathogen Salmonella, and the microbiome of broiler carcasses, intestinal contents, and slaughtering facilities. Comparative analyses were conducted between market and industrial processing environments. TAB levels on broiler carcasses showed a significant negative correlation with hygiene scores, indicating that both HABT and home-made rating tools effectively assess and improve processing hygiene. Industrial processing consistently reduced bacterial contamination compared to wet markets. Although Salmonella spp. prevalence was lower in market-processed carcasses, the study identified significant cross-transmission of pathobionts and variations in bacterial composition with hygiene improvements. Notably, the microbiome analysis revealed overlaps in amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) between carcasses and contamination vectors, highlighting pathobiont transmission risks. The present study confirmed the scales of hygiene standards among wet markets reflect bacterial contamination on broiler carcasses. Enhancing slaughter practices to meet industrial hygiene standards is essential for reducing the transmission of foodborne pathogens and pathobionts, and improving food safety.

Policies to prevent zoonotic spillover: protocol for a systematic scoping review of evaluative evidence

INTRODUCTION

The increasing incidence of pathogen transmission from animals to humans (zoonotic spillover events) has been attributed to behavioural practices and ecological and socioeconomic change. As these events sometimes involve pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential, they pose a serious threat to population health. Public policies may play a key role in preventing these events. The aim of this review is to identify evaluations of public policies that target the determinants of zoonotic spillover, examining approaches taken to evaluation, choice of outcomes measures and evidence of effectiveness. Our approach to identifying and analysing this literature will be informed by a One Health lens, acknowledging the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A systematic scoping review methodology will be used. To identify articles, we will search Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Global Health in May 2021 using search terms combining animal health and the animal-human interface, public policy, prevention and zoonoses. We will screen titles and abstracts and extract data according to published guidelines for scoping reviews. All evaluations of public policies aiming to prevent zoonotic spillover events will be eligible for inclusion. We will summarise key data from each study, mapping policies along the spillover pathway and outlining the range of policies, approaches to evaluation and outcome measures. Review findings will provide a useful reference for researchers and practitioners, outlining the state of the evaluative evidence around policies to prevent zoonotic spillover.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Formal ethical approval is not required, because the study does not involve primary data collection. The findings of this study will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, presentations and summaries for key stakeholders.

Protection Motivation Theory and consumers' food safety behaviour in response to COVID-19

The threat of COVID-19 has altered consumers shopping behaviour and increased consumers' willingness to purchase food using online food delivery services. Consumers were more likely to practice strict hand hygiene measures and were concerned with food safety. Such behaviours were likely driven by the fear and threat of contracting COVID-19. This study aims to use Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) to investigate how COVID-19 affects food shopping and food safety behaviour. An online, cross-sectional study was conducted in Indonesia and Malaysia to determine the protective motivation to engage in three food shopping and hygiene practices such as i) Safe food shopping behaviour; ii) Hand hygiene and avoiding cross contamination; and iii) Use of online food delivery services. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman rho's correlation and binary logistic regression. A total of 1180 responses were received of which 1129 were valid. Gender was identified as a significant predictor across all food safety behaviours during COVID-19. Response efficacy and self-efficacy were significant predictors for food shopping behaviour while perceived severity significantly predicted hand hygiene practices after shopping. Age, frequency of food preparation and shopping, perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response efficacy and self-efficacy were significant predictors for use of online food delivery services. Our findings suggest that women were more likely to engage in protective measures during food shopping, carry out hand hygiene practices after shopping and use online food delivery services during COVID-19. Participants with higher response and self-efficacy scores were more likely to shop from markets or shops with high hygiene standards while participants who perceived COVID-19 as a serious threat were more likely to clean and sanitise their hands after shopping. Participants also believed that the use of online food delivery services helps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. However, foods should be purchased from trusted restaurants or takeaways. This is the first study to use Protection Motivation Theory to explore consumers' food shopping, hand hygiene and online food delivery practices during COVID-19.