African traditional foods and sustainable food security

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Dietary diversity is key to sustainable food security and part of Africa's rich biodiversity heritage are hundreds of lesser-known indigenous crops and wild food plants that are important components of African traditional diets. African traditional foods and African food processing techniques are part of the rich cultural heritage of the people. Fermentation and sun-drying are two of the most important African traditional food processing techniques used for the production of a wide range of processed food products and for low-cost food preservation under non-refrigeration conditions. Lactic acid fermentation is used for the production of a variety of African traditional foods from plant and animal sources that are safe, nutritious and contribute to food security. Some of the organisms are probiotics that offer distinct health benefits. However, African traditional foods are still largely prepared in the home and the unregulated informal food sector. Their production is characterized by slow, manual operations; the processes are not standardized and the quality of the products are variable and often poor. There are serious safety concerns with many African traditional foods and beverages largely on account of the unhygienic conditions under which they are prepared, the quality of the raw materials and the packaging. Another safety concern with regards to African traditional fermented foods is foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria that reduces the options for treating human and animal diseases. Some successes have been recorded in reducing the drudgery associated with African traditional food processing, carried out mainly by women, and increasing the capacity, efficiency and safety of the processes and the quality of the products through the introduction of small machines for small-scale industrial production. Solar drying eliminates the problem of poor quality and unsafe products associated with the traditional open air, shallow layer sun-drying. Even though considerable amount of research has been carried out on upgrading African traditional foods, they remain largely at the bench stage. The establishment of zonal or regional food pilot plants will facilitate the commercialization of research findings from African universities and research institutes, improve traditional foods and processes, and promote sustainable food security.