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Waldman L, Hrynick TA, Benschop J, Cleaveland S, Crump JA, Davis MA, Mariki B, Mmbaga BT, Mtui-Malamsha N, Prinsen G, Sharp J, Swai ES, Thomas KM, Zadoks RN. Meat Safety in Northern Tanzania: Inspectors' and Slaughter Workers' Risk Perceptions and Management. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:309. [PMID: 32626728 PMCID: PMC7314929 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Through a social scientific lens, this paper considers the risk perceptions and "risk-based decision-making" of two key groups in a northern Tanzanian context: (1) frontline government meat inspectors and health officers charged with ensuring that red meat sold commercially is safe for people to consume, and (2) the workers who slaughter and process cattle and red meat prior to its sale in rural butcheries. In contrast to techno-scientific understandings of disease risk and "rational" approaches to its management, this paper foregrounds the role of social, economic and institutional context in shaping the perceptions and practices around meat safety of these actors whose daily, close proximity to meat means they play a significant role in mitigating potential meat-borne disease. We show how limited resources, and a combination of scientific and local knowledge and norms result in "situated expertise" and particular forms of risk perception and practice which both enhance and compromise meat safety in different ways. Actors' shared concerns with what is visible, ensures that visibly unsafe or abnormal meat is excluded from sale, and that infrastructure and meat is kept "clean" and free of certain visible contaminants such as soil or, on occasion, feces. While such contaminants serve as a good proxy for pathogen presence, meat inspectors and especially slaughter workers were much less aware of or concerned with invisible pathogens that may compromise meat safety. The role of process and meat handling did not figure very strongly in their concerns. Microorganisms such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, which can easily be transferred onto meat and persist in slaughter and meat sale environments, went unacknowledged. Although health officers expressed more concern with hygiene and meat handling, their influence over slaughter process and butchery operations was unclear. Ultimately, recognizing the perceptions and practices of frontline actors who engage with meat, and the ways in which social, material and institutional realities shape these, is important for understanding how decisions about risk and meat safety are made in the complexity and context of everyday life, and thus for finding effective ways to support them to further enhance their work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Waldman
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Tabitha A. Hrynick
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Jackie Benschop
- EpiLab, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Sarah Cleaveland
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - John A. Crump
- Centre for International Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tumaini University, Moshi, Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - Margaret A. Davis
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | | | - Blandina T. Mmbaga
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tumaini University, Moshi, Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Good Samaritan Foundation, Moshi, Tanzania
| | | | - Gerard Prinsen
- School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Joanne Sharp
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | | | - Kate M. Thomas
- Centre for International Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Good Samaritan Foundation, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - Ruth N. Zadoks
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Prinsen G, Benschop J, Cleaveland S, Crump JA, French NP, Hrynick TA, Mariki B, Mmbaga BT, Sharp JP, Swai ES, Thomas KM, Zadoks RN, Waldman L. Meat Safety in Tanzania's Value Chain: Experiences, Explanations and Expectations in Butcheries and Eateries. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17:E2833. [PMID: 32326067 PMCID: PMC7216110 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17082833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Urbanisation is associated with changes in consumption patterns and food production processes. These patterns and processes can increase or decrease the risks of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and are generally accompanied by changes in food safety policies and regulations about food handling. This affects consumers, as well as people economically engaged in the food value chain. This study looks at Tanzania's red meat value chain-which in its totality involves about one third of the population-and focuses on the knowledge, attitudes and reported practices of operators of butcheries and eateries with regards to meat safety in an urban and in a rural environment. We interviewed 64 operators about their experiences with foodborne diseases and their explanations and expectations around meat safety, with a particular emphasis on how they understood their own actions regarding food safety risks vis-à-vis regulations. We found operators of eateries emphasising their own agency in keeping meat safe, whereas operators of butcheries-whose products are more closely inspected-relied more on official inspections. Looking towards meat safety in the future, interviewees in rural areas were, relative to their urban counterparts, more optimistic, which we attribute to rural operators' shorter and relatively unmediated value chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Prinsen
- School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
| | - Jackie Benschop
- School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand; (J.B.); (N.P.F.)
| | - Sarah Cleaveland
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (S.C.); (R.N.Z.)
| | - John A. Crump
- Centre for International Health, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; (J.A.C.); (K.M.T.)
| | - Nigel P. French
- School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand; (J.B.); (N.P.F.)
| | - Tabitha A. Hrynick
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Library Road, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK; (T.A.H.); (L.W.)
| | - Boniface Mariki
- Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Kilimanjaro, Old Moshi Road, Moshi 9713, Tanzania;
| | | | - Joanne P. Sharp
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AL, UK;
| | - Emmanuel S. Swai
- Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dodoma, PO Box 2870, Tanzania;
| | - Kate M. Thomas
- Centre for International Health, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; (J.A.C.); (K.M.T.)
| | - Ruth N. Zadoks
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK; (S.C.); (R.N.Z.)
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, JL Shute Building, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia
| | - Linda Waldman
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Library Road, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK; (T.A.H.); (L.W.)
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Hrynick TA, Barasa V, Benschop J, Cleaveland S, Crump JA, Davis M, Mariki B, Mmbaga BT, Mtui-Malamsha N, Prinsen G, Sharp J, Sindiyo E, Swai ES, Thomas KM, Zadoks R, Waldman L. Street-level diplomacy and local enforcement for meat safety in northern Tanzania: knowledge, pragmatism and trust. BMC Public Health 2019; 19:863. [PMID: 31269927 PMCID: PMC6610827 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-7067-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With increasing demand for red meat in Tanzania comes heightened potential for zoonotic infections in animals and humans that disproportionately affect poor communities. A range of frontline government employees work to protect public health, providing services for people engaged in animal-based livelihoods (livestock owners and butchers), and enforcing meat safety and food premises standards. In contrast to literature which emphasises the inadequacy of extension support and food safety policy implementation in low- and middle-income countries, this paper foregrounds the 'street-level diplomacy' deployed by frontline actors operating in challenging contexts. METHODS This research is based on semi-structured interviews with 61 government employees, including livestock extension officers/meat inspectors and health officers, across 10 randomly-selected rural and urban wards. RESULTS Frontline actors combined formal and informal strategies including the leveraging of formal policy texts and relationships with other state employees, remaining flexible and recognising that poverty constrained people's ability to comply with health regulations. They emphasised the need to work with livestock keepers and butchers to build their knowledge to self-regulate and to work collaboratively to ensure meat safety. Remaining adaptive and being hesitant to act punitively unless absolutely necessary cultivated trust and positive relations, making those engaged in animal-based livelihoods more open to learning from and cooperating with extension officers and inspectors. This may result in higher levels of meat safety than might be the case if frontline actors stringently enforced regulations. CONCLUSION The current tendency to view frontline actors' partial enforcement of meat safety regulations as a failure obscures the creative and proactive ways in which they seek to ensure meat safety in a context of limited resources. Their application of 'street-level diplomacy' enables them to be sensitive to local socio-economic realities, to respect local social norms and expectations and to build support for health safety interventions when necessary. More explicitly acknowledging the role of trust and positive state-society relations and the diplomatic skills deployed by frontline actors as a formal part of their inspection duties offers new perspectives and enhanced understandings on the complicated nature of their work and what might be done to support them.
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Affiliation(s)
- T A Hrynick
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - V Barasa
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - J Benschop
- mEpiLab, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston, New Zealand
| | - S Cleaveland
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - J A Crump
- Centre for International Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tumaini University, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - M Davis
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, USA
| | - B Mariki
- Tanzania Chamber of Commerce - Kilimanjaro, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - B T Mmbaga
- Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tumaini University, Moshi, Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - N Mtui-Malamsha
- Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, Dodoma, Tanzania
| | - G Prinsen
- School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - J Sharp
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - E Sindiyo
- Mwanga District Council Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Mwanga, Tanzania
| | - E S Swai
- Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, Dodoma, Tanzania
| | - K M Thomas
- Centre for International Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - R Zadoks
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - L Waldman
- Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
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