The African Continental Association for Food Protection (ACAFP) has honored Favour Ayorinde with one of the Best Poster Awards at the 3rd Regional Food Safety Conference. Favour Ayorinde is a member of the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) at IITA–CGIAR. Ayorinde is an MSc student at the Department of Microbiology, University of Ibadan. The poster was co-authored by her research supervisors – Drs Titilayo Falade (IITA Scientist) and Kolawole Banwo (IITA Visiting Scientist), who were at the conference; Dr Valery Sinda-Kemdoum and Busayo Olowolafe.
Out of over 80 high-quality poster submissions, Ayorinde’s poster titled “Safety Assessment of Bush Mango Seeds Along Its Value Chain” was selected as one of the top four outstanding posters. Her poster reported the multiple food safety risks associated with bush mango (Irvingia spp.), an underutilised crop that grows in West and Central Africa. Their research is contributing to ongoing food safety efforts at IITA, and the research costs for her work were covered by the HORIZON EUROPE projects Healthy Diets for Africa and Food Safety for Africa.
The recognition by ACAFP highlights the outstanding scientific contribution of their poster in the advancement of food safety in Africa and in African underutilised foods. ACAFP is an affiliate of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) – the largest global professional body for food safety Drs Falade and Banwo are IAFP members).
As a regional platform, ACAFP plays a critical role in convening experts, researchers, regulators, and industry actors to identify challenges and promote solutions that enhance food safety across the African continent.
The 3rd ACAFP Food Safety Conference, held at Ogere Resort, Ogun State, Nigeria, brought together more than 200 delegates including IAFP members, the ACAFP Board, senior government officials, FAO representatives, academia, private sector professionals, and participants from several African countries and outside the continent.
The discussions and presentations at the conference were in alignment with the conference theme, “Enhancing Food Safety Systems for Improved Public Health, Trade Competitiveness and Economic Growth in Africa.”
Contributed by Feranmi Olatilo and Titilayo Falade
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