Extend existing food safety systems to the global wildlife trade
Authors: Duan Biggs, Hernan Caceres-Escobar, Richard Kock, Gavin Thomson, James Compton
Journal: The Lancet Planetary Health (2021)

The suspected role of the wildlife trade in the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of new emerging infectious diseases in humans have received widespread attention since the emergence of COVID-19.1Roe D Dickman A Kock R Milner-Gulland EJ Rihoy E Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development.World Dev. 2020; 136105121Crossref PubMed Scopus (105) Google Scholar, 2Eskew EA Carlson CJ Overselling wildlife trade bans will not bolster conservation or pandemic preparedness.Lancet Planet Health. 2020; 4: e215-e216Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (32) Google Scholar, 3WHOWHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China part. World Health Organization, Geneva2021Google Scholar A range of measures to prevent future pandemics have been suggested, from a global ban of commercial trade in wildlife to bans of wild animals for human consumption. Although emergency bans that enable rapid responses and adaptation can be a component of risk management, questions persist regarding the appropriateness of broad international bans in the context of zoonosis and pathogenic risks emerging from human consumption and use of wildlife.1Roe D Dickman A Kock R Milner-Gulland EJ Rihoy E Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development.World Dev. 2020; 136105121Crossref PubMed Scopus (105) Google Scholar, 2Eskew EA Carlson CJ Overselling wildlife trade bans will not bolster conservation or pandemic preparedness.Lancet Planet Health. 2020; 4: e215-e216Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (32) Google Scholar, 4Booth H Arias M Brittain S et al."Saving lives, protecting livelihoods, and safeguarding nature": risk-based wildlife trade policy for sustainable development outcomes post-COVID-19.Front Ecol Evol. 2021; 9: 99Crossref Scopus (18) Google Scholar Due to uncertainties around the risk posed by wildlife in this context, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness and sustainability of broad bans.1Roe D Dickman A Kock R Milner-Gulland EJ Rihoy E Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development.World Dev. 2020; 136105121Crossref PubMed Scopus (105) Google Scholar Additionally, for livelihood and cultural reasons and buy in from supply chain participants, mechanisms are required to adequately understand and manage the disease risks for the safe trade and consumption of wildlife.1Roe D Dickman A Kock R Milner-Gulland EJ Rihoy E Beyond banning wildlife trade: COVID-19, conservation and development.World Dev. 2020; 136105121Crossref PubMed Scopus (105) Google Scholar, 4Booth H Arias M Brittain S et al."Saving lives, protecting livelihoods, and safeguarding nature": risk-based wildlife trade policy for sustainable development outcomes post-COVID-19.Front Ecol Evol. 2021; 9: 99Crossref Scopus (18) Google Scholar We argue that safe trade and consumption of wildlife could align with existing global food safety regulations in agreement with the precautionary principle and in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, the risk of foodborne diseases from domestic animals has resulted in a long-standing global effort to manage food safety.5World Organisation for Animal Health and International Union for the Conservation of NatureGuidelines for wildlife disease risk analysis. World Organisation for Animal Health and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Paris2014Google Scholar, 6Thomson GR Penrith ML Atkinson MW et al.International trade standards for commodities and products derived from animals: the need for a system that integrates food safety and animal disease risk management.Transbound Emerg Dis. 2013; 60: 507-515Crossref PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar International systems for food safety are based on identifying hazards and associated risks along a food supply chain. Hazards are "a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause harm", and risks are "the estimated probability and severity of adverse health effects in exposed populations consequential to hazards" (in this case, food).7Food and Agricultural OrganisationHazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system and guidelines for its application: annex to CAC/RCP 1–1969, rev 3.https://www.fao.org/3/Y1579E/y1579e03.htmDate: 1997Date accessed: March 25, 2021Google Scholar The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points System (HACCP) identifies hazards and their risks to human health.7Food and Agricultural OrganisationHazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system and guidelines for its application: annex to CAC/RCP 1–1969, rev 3.https://www.fao.org/3/Y1579E/y1579e03.htmDate: 1997Date accessed: March 25, 2021Google Scholar HACCP developed from the 1960s onwards and is now endorsed by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, World Organisation for Animal Health, WHO, and, at the national level, by organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration.8Weinroth MD Belk AD Belk KE History, development, and current status of food safety systems worldwide.Anim Front. 2018; 8: 9-15Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar, 9US Food and Drug AdministrationHazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for food for animals: guidance for industry. US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, Laurel, MD2018Google Scholar HACCP is the principle management method for reducing the risk of foodborne illness.8Weinroth MD Belk AD Belk KE History, development, and current status of food safety systems worldwide.Anim Front. 2018; 8: 9-15Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar It incorporates risk analysis of hazards (ie, agents and diseases), current practices, processes, and actors to identify critical control points along a supply chain.8Weinroth MD Belk AD Belk KE History, development, and current status of food safety systems worldwide.Anim Front. 2018; 8: 9-15Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar Auditing of standards, guidelines, and the way that they are implemented in different local contexts is done through the assessment and management of critical control points.6Thomson GR Penrith ML Atkinson MW et al.International trade standards for commodities and products derived from animals: the need for a system that integrates food safety and animal disease risk management.Transbound Emerg Dis. 2013; 60: 507-515Crossref PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar This integration of supply chain analysis with epidemiology and risk analysis has been widely applied to the international livestock trade (eg, HACCP has been used to control foot and mouth disease in cattle in a way that allows for greater local participation and ensures that health standards are met while accounting for livelihood and socioeconomic concerns).6Thomson GR Penrith ML Atkinson MW et al.International trade standards for commodities and products derived from animals: the need for a system that integrates food safety and animal disease risk management.Transbound Emerg Dis. 2013; 60: 507-515Crossref PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar The HACCP approach could be adapted for and extended to wildlife trade and consumption. Indeed, the trade and ultimate consumption of kangaroo meat from Australia10Australian GovernmentExport control (wild game meat and wild game meat products) rules 2021.https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L00313Date: March 19, 2021Date accessed: March 23, 2021Google Scholar has an HACCP-based risk management system in place for international export and domestic consumption. HACCP and HACCP-based systems can be used as a basis and extended to other wildlife products as appropriate for different species and supply chains. Targeted bans of trade in some species and practices can have an important role in emergency responses to disease risk, but they are only part of the policy and management response that is required. HACCP and HACCP-based systems present a way in which wildlife trade supply chains can be secured to exclude practices that pose high health risks and to increase compliance with existing legal systems and criteria. Stronger scrutiny, controls, and resourcing to manage health risks from wildlife trade will have the added benefit of enhancing efforts targeting illegal and unsustainable practices. The necessary policy attention and resourcing for researching, scoping, and piloting ways in which HACCP can be applied broadly to the wildlife trade is urgently needed. These investigations should include examining the contexts in which HACCP is likely to work for the wildlife trade and the types of investments that are required, especially in low-income countries. We declare no competing interests. Gavin Thomson, unfortunately, passed away during the writing of this paper following a long battle with cancer. He had an extraordinary critical intellect and a highly productive career in veterinary science and virology. Gavin was recognised for his remarkable innovation, rising through the ranks of a global policy influencer in animal food systems and on key health questions, especially as they related to the interface between wildlife and livestock sectors. Gavin represented Africa courageously in this field to overturn colonial and eurocentric perspectives on livestock. Gavin introduced commodity-based trade principles and contributed significantly to the final eradication of rinderpest. Perhaps his most lasting legacy is debunking myths on foot and mouth disease, especially in southern Africa. Through these efforts, Gavin was at the vanguard of overturning the tariffs and barriers faced by traditional and smallholder-livestock producers and wildlife conservation.