Cianjoka, GM, Thomas, lian, Onono, JO, Bor, NK, Odinga, OC and Fevre, Eric (2026) Mapping pork product flows and food safety practices in a smallholder pork value chain in rural western Kenya. [Data Collection]
Description
The increase in demand for pork in sub-Saharan Africa offers significant opportunities for improved livelihoods, food security, and nutrition for pig farmers. However, without public health infrastructure that keeps pace with this growth, these benefits may be undermined with increased food safety risks. Rural western Kenya has the second largest pig population in the country, and consumption of pork, the most affordable type of meat in this region, is rising. Previous research in western Kenya has quantified the risk of exposure to Taenia solium, described prevalence of non-typhoidal Salmonella in live pigs at the point of slaughter and retail outlets, and identified multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli in slaughter environments. While several studies have examined specific pathogens at individual points along the pork value chain, there remains an evidence gap on how risk practices are distributed across the entire chain. This study used value chain mapping and a mixed-methods approach to conduct an integrated assessment of food safety practices at slaughter, carcass transportation, retail (raw and cooked pork), and household consumption nodes in four purposively selected rural areas in western Kenya. Focus group discussions with pork retailers and cooperative farmers were used to map product flows and identify key value chain nodes. Questionnaires were administered to slaughter-slab owners, retailers, consumers of cooked pork at pork outlets and household purchasers of raw pork. Additionally, data on food safety practices at various nodes: slaughter slabs, during carcass transport and in raw and cooked pork outlets were recorded though observations. Descriptive analyses summarized the frequency of risky practices, and value chain maps visualized pork product flows from procurement to consumptions. The value chain was predominantly supplied by small-scale producers, with 93.0% of sourced pigs originating from farms keeping 1–5 pigs. At slaughter, all observed carcasses were dehaired on the floor, and intestinal leakage occurred in 51.1% of eviscerations. During carcass transport, only 20.8% of retailers used serialised meat transport boxes, while most transported carcasses in woven plastic sacks. At raw pork retail outlets, 86.9% of retailers stored pork for more than 24 hours. In cooked pork outlets, pork was generally prepared at high temperatures, with a mean cooking duration of 8.7 minutes, mean maximum core temperature of 185°C, and mean serving temperature of 88.5°C; however, only 9.2% of handlers washed their hands after handling raw pork and before preparing raw vegetable side salads. Collectively, these findings from the first integrated assessment of food safety practices in a smallholder meat value chain in this region highlight several practical leverage points for improving food safety and provide critical inputs for microbial risk assessment models to support the design and testing of context-specific interventions.
| Keywords: | africa, food safety, foodborne disease, kenya, pork, risk assessment, zoonoses |
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| Date Deposited: | 08 Apr 2026 11:23 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Apr 2026 11:24 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/3080 |
| Geography: | Kenya, Africa |
| URI: | https://datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3080 |
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