Project Description

For Kenya’s rapidly growing population, chicken is of increasing importance in food security and nutrition. However, poultry carries a risk of contamination with foodborne pathogens during production and processing, and baseline data is needed to prioritize food safety practices and policies.

This project, co-led by Robert Onsare of the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Catherine Kunyanga of the University of Nairobi, is collecting fundamental data on microbial food safety in the poultry value chain. The team is evaluating gender and youth roles related to food safety, assessing the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria at the point of production and sale, characterizing the bacterial isolates using whole genome sequencing, and developing and implementing training in Best Management Practices for poultry production to improve food safety.

Project outreach will empower small- and mid-sized poultry operators to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness. In addition, by developing baseline data on key foodborne pathogens, the project will equip the private sector, regulators, and policymakers with science-based recommendations to inform strategies to strengthen food safety in the poultry value chain.