Fault lines in food system governance exposed: reflections from the listeria outbreak in South Africa. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hunter-Adams, Jo; Battersby, Jane; Oni, Tolu
• Is Part Of: Cities & health. Volume 2:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 21
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: Listeria -- food system -- food insecurity -- diet -- determinants -- outbreak -- South Africa; 362.12
• DOI: 10.1080/23748834.2018.1508326
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2374-8834

Abstract

ABSTRACT: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), South Africa recently experienced the largest ever recorded outbreak of listeria ( Listeria monocytogenes ), with almost 1049 confirmed cases and 209 deaths between 1 January 2017 and 5 June 2018. South Africa's listeria outbreak provides an opportunity to interrogate the relative power of the state and the private sector in shaping the food system and to re-evaluate the issues of traceability and broader governance. It also provides an opportunity to consider the determinants of diets and consequent health outcomes of the poor, and to develop policy and programmatic inventions better attuned to the lives of the poor and aligned for the creation of health.