The Food Safety 4 Food Security partnership (FS4FS) was established to provide technical assistance, and policy and regulatory development for low and middle-income nations. Daniel Whitley, Administrator of the USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service, stated, “Strong food safety delivered through policies and institutions as well as farmer, consumer and industry readiness are critical to transforming agri-food systems.”
Dina Esposito, Acting Assistant to the Administrator of the USAID Bureau of Resilience and Food Security, stated, “Through the New Food Safety 4 Food Security partnership, we will work with countries around the world to increase access to safe and nutritious foods.”
The project involves a commitment of $15 million with the FAS functioning as the lead Agency. Objectives of the program include reducing hunger and malnutrition and limiting foodborne infections. It is doubtful how $15 million can overcome inherent structural problems impacting nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia. These include:-
- Absence of land tenure for farmers,
- Failure of agricultural banks (even if in existence) to provide farmers with working capital,
- Deficiencies in infrastructure and storage of farm commodities leading to contamination, infestation and wastage,
- Corruption on a vast scale
- Lack of concern by central governments for the welfare of their citizens.
Given the challenges facing industrialized nations with respect to suppressing foodborne infections, the limited resources of the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA-FSIS could be better focused on domestic well-being.
Intestinal infections and parasitism could be addressed more efficiently by concentrating on improving water supply, disposal of human waste, mass treatment for parasitism and immunization.
The FS4FS project has all the hallmarks of a “feel good” program that will benefit contractors with little impact on the intended recipient nations.