Food fraud is an old, recurring, and global threat to public health. It poses a serious threat to food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite the prevalence of food fraud in SSA, little is known about how food fraud is viewed by consumers. This study aims to provide an overview of consumers’ concerns about food fraud in SSA. A multi-country survey was conducted in October 2022–31 January 2023, and 838 valid responses were returned. To reduce the large and correlated dataset, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used. Five components were derived from PCA: (i) Staple foods; (ii) Premium food and drink products; (iii) Trust in reliable sources; (iv) Trust in less reliable sources; and (v) Trust in food vendors. The findings revealed Ghanaian (mean rank = 509.47) and Nigerian (mean rank = 454.82) consumers tended to score higher on the measure of food fraud concern suggesting that they were less confident in the safety and quality of the food they consume. Demographic characteristics including age, number of children, personal and family experience of food fraud and PCA components such as ‘Staple foods’, ‘Trust in reliable sources’, and ‘Trust in food vendors’ significantly predicted the model. This is the first preliminary study to provide empirical findings on consumers’ concerns about food fraud in SSA. Practical and policy recommendations for the region are suggested. This includes (i) modelling the AfriFoodinTegrity in West Africa across other major regions such as Central, East, and Southern Africa; (ii) establish a regional sub-Saharan Africa Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (SSA-RASFF) platform; and (iii) food safety and food fraud reports could be incorporated into SSA-RASFF portal for information sharing.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies have recently been suggested as a useful tool to understand the specificity of the population related to a disease. However, in Cameroon, there is a lack of information based on KAP studies regarding obesity. This study has been designed to collect basic indicators on the KAP of the populations regarding overweight and obesity in urban and rural areas in Cameroon (Douala and Manjo). For this purpose, an epidemiological community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in these two areas using a well-structured questionnaire. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics and KAP information were assessed. For the quantification of KAP, a score varying from 0 (poor knowledge, attitude, or practices) to 100 (good knowledge, attitude, or practices) was attributed for each question. Correlations between knowledge, attitude, and practice were determined using inferential statistics tests which were test, independent Student -test, ANOVA (followed by Tukey’s post hoc test), and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results reveal that living in a rural area (Manjo), being overweight or obese, having complete secondary education, and being married increase the knowledge and the practice score. There is a strong and positive correlation between knowledge and practice score. However, there is no association between attitude and practice and between attitude and knowledge. Reducing the disparities between knowledge, attitude, and practices constitutes a serious track in a holistic strategy for the management of obesity in these areas.

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical characteristics and antibacterial activity of Fontitrygon margarita liver oil against the bacteria responsible for food poisoning. Methods. Oils were extracted from F. margarita liver using two methods (exudation and cooking-pressing) and analyses by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Quality indexes were determined using standard methods and the fatty acid profile was carried out by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Antibacterial activities of these oils, their emulsion, and their interactions with common antibiotics were evaluated by the broth microdilution method. Results. Extraction yield was higher with cooking-pressing (16.90) compared to exudation (14.49). The quality indexes of both oils were conformed to Codex Alimentarius Standard. Thiobarbituric acid index was higher with exudation compared to cooking-pressing (3.200.14 and 2.360.14μmol MDA/kg, respectively) while acid, iodine, peroxide, and anisidine values did not significantly vary with the extraction methods (2.15-2.30 mgKOH/g, 102.42-106.65 gI₂/100g, 3.34-3.57 meqO₂/kg, and 2.85-3.32 respectively). FTIR analyses clearly show that the two spectra are similar (no differences in the frequency and absorbance of their bands). The fatty acid profile revealed that, regardless of the extraction methods, F. margarita oil is richer in monounsaturated (55.97-55.41) followed by polyunsaturated (28.17-28.52) and saturated fatty acids (15.86-16.07). Moreover, these oils showed antibacterial activity on all the bacteria strains tested with MICs between 16 and 256mg/ml. Regardless of the extraction methods, emulsions showed higher activity (6.25MIC 25mg/ml) compared to crude oils. Additionally, F. margarita liver oil potentiated the antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, gentamicin, amoxicillin, and chloramphenicol. Conclusion. These results showed the effectiveness of Fontitrygon margarita liver oil against some bacteria responsible for food poisoning, thus demonstrating their antibacterial properties which could be due to their chemical composition.

Due to their significant health benefits, fish oils have garnered increasing interest in recent decades. However, Cameroons fish oil market remains insignificant, and the few available products are imported, despite the countrys abundant marine resources. Additionally, research on Cameroonian fish oils is relatively recent and scarce. Therefore, this manuscript provides an overview of research on fish oils in Cameroon, focusing on their physicochemical characteristics, as well as their nutritional and biological properties. As of March 2023, 26 studies on fish oils in Cameroon have been published, with a focus on 23 species collected in the littoral, far-north, and west regions of Cameroon. Filets were the main parts used, and the Bligh Dyer and Soxhlet methods were the primary oil extraction techniques. Depending on the species, tissues, and extraction methods, oil contents ranged from 4.57 to 32.10 dry matter or yielded 0.36 to 66.83 wet weight. These oils generally meet recommended standards for markers of acidity and oxidation. Fatty acid profiles from 16 species showed a total of 48 fatty acids, including those that are beneficial to human health. Oils from eight species were found to significantly reduce weight, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, hepatomegaly, and adipomegaly, while four species showed activity against bacteria responsible for food poisoning. Future work should include all fish species found in Cameroon, with a focus on by-products, and explore the physicochemical, functional, nutritional, and biological properties of these oils.