An Overview of Food Preservation Methods in Practice in Africa

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are most affected by chronic food insecurity, confirmed by statistics which show that 35% of the population in this region is malnourished. Out of the 174 countries listed in the Human Development Index by the UNDP, (1,2) the lowest 22 are African. Preservation of food has a beneficial role in food security; as such preserved foods have longer shelf lives. In the tropical regions high temperatures and humidity induces accelerated deterioration of fresh foods. This accelerated deterioration is responsible for post harvest loses that are estimated to be as high as 30% for some crops. Preservation of food could significantly reduce the post harvest loses, consequently reducing the food insecurity. The Tanzanian official website (3) on food security, describes ‘Food insecurity’ as follows: The aggregate national food availability in Tanzania is not of plenty, but that of a critical balance between production and needs’.

People are judged to be "food secure" when they have regular access to sufficient foods for a healthy and productive life. The process to attain food security must be sustainable with maintenance of infra- structure and the environment.

In the advanced nations food preservation methods like canning; freezing, freeze-drying, chemical additives, sterilization, irradiation, fumigation, genetic modifications and packaging systems have found wide use in commercial and consumer acceptability but not without controversies on matters of health and the environment. Despite the drawbacks, developed nations have attained a high level of food security. Preservation methods such as salting have declined in the developed world in preference to newer methods that are machinery based, technologically advanced and sometimes energy intensive.

In the tropics however, preserving food based on low energy consumption, simpler machinery and storage at ambient temperatures, appears to be alternatives that are more economical. Methods such as drying, salting, smoking or in combinations like smoking with drying or salting with smoking and drying and the use of herbs and spices including fermentation are in common practice in the poorer regions of the world notably sub-Saharan Africa.

Critical appraisal of the preservation methods in practice:

The suns heat in the tropics is a renewable and sustainable energy source that can be used in drying and to drive fermentation processes. Wood fuel can be regenerated and renewed as biomass, for use in drying and smoking, while salt, an abundant naturally occurring chemical, can be used for salting. It is therefore possible to assume that drying; smoking, salting and fermentation processes currently in practice in Africa are affordable and sustainable. The tiny proportion or absence of tropical foods in world markets does not reflect the energy potential available, suggesting that something is wrong and steps should be taken to address the problem.

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