Trade project warns unsafe food threatens Zambia’s health, economy

The Zambia Agribusiness and Trade Project II has alerted that unsafe foods were not only threatening public health in the country but undermining trade, entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, and food security.

Project Manager, Golden Makayi, highlighted that low- and middle-income countries, like Zambia, lost over US$300 million a day in productivity due to unsafe food.

Makayi said this at Mulungushi International Conference in Lusaka on Friday during the commemoration of the 2025 World Food Safety Day under the theme, “Food Safety – Science in Action.”

He highlighted that at global level 1.6 million people fell ill daily from unsafe food, and that food-borne diseases caused over 200 health conditions, ranging from gastrointestinal infections to long-term disabilities.

“But here is the twist, the very businesses most critical to feeding our people are also those most exposed to these risks. In Zambia, as across much of the continent, SMEs produce the bulk of the food we eat,” Makayi stated.

He noted that without practical standards support, without access to modern laboratories, and without a functioning ecosystem around them, even the best-intentioned entrepreneurs were left to navigate food safety in the dark.

Makayi said it was for this reason that ZATP II made the strategic decision to co-finance and support the Scientific Symposium in Lusaka because it believed that food safety was not just a health issue or an afterthought.

“Iam proud to announce today that ZATP II, under Component 2 of the Project, will be making transformational investments in strengthening Zambia’s food safety architecture, not only at the enterprise level, but across the entire enabling environment,” he said.

Makayi announced that ZATP II was investing in food safety laboratories, systems, and institutions such as the National Food Laboratory, under the Ministry of Health and the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA).

“The National Food Laboratory will receive advanced equipment for microbiological and chemical analysis enabling faster, more reliable results for both public health surveillance and enterprise testing,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a speech read on his behalf by the Ministry representative, Dr. Matilda Simpungu, Minister of Health, Dr Elijah Muchima, noted the need to bridge the gap between research and real-world application between knowledge and implementation.

“Let us commit to elevating science as the foundation of all our food safety decisions—from how regulation and inspection, how we engage the public and empower producers,” Muchima said.

He stated that Zambia was making significant efforts towards developing a science and risk-based integrated National Food Safety Policy, intended to ensure protection of Consumer health and promoting fair food trade through better coordination and addressing key food safety issues.

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