The University of Johannesburg (UJ) in collaboration with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) South Africa will hold the 2016 Autumn International Scientific Conference on Food Security and Safety 16 to 18 May.University_of_Johannesburg_Logo

Food security revolves around four major aspects: Availability, access, stability and utilization. In the same way, food safety implies “the absence of, or acceptable and safe levels of contaminants, adulterants, naturally occurring toxins or any other substance that make food injurious to health on an acute or chronic basis.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 60% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods but the continent also deals with numerous agricultural challenges, such as limited access to arable land and services, high post-harvest losses, limited processing, inadequate access to markets and finance and low investment into food and agricultural research, training and extension services. Various groups of people in sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to health hazards (such as mycotoxins, heavy metals, etc.) in their diets, directly and/or indirectly through the consumption of unsafe foods or the unavailability of nutritious foods.

This week’s conference will include sessions on recent developments in mycotoxin analysis, led by Sarah De Saeger of Ghent University in Belgium).

Other speakers include:

  • Dr. Nomusa Dlamini of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa, discussing novel and emerging technologies for food processing and preservation in Africa;
  • Prof. Gabriel Adegoke of the University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria, discussing mycotoxin research in Africa; and,
  • Prof. Hussaini Makun of the Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMinna), Nigeria, talking about managing fungal populations to reduce human exposure to aflatoxins.

Check out the program here.