Papers by Coen Van Wagenberg
BMC Public Health
Background Globally, foodborne diseases result in a significant disease burden with low- and midd... more Background Globally, foodborne diseases result in a significant disease burden with low- and middle-income countries disproportionately affected. Estimates of healthcare costs related to foodborne disease can aid decision makers to take action to mitigate risks and prevent illness. However, only limited data on the African continent are available, especially related to more severe sequelae. We provide estimates of direct and indirect (non)-medical costs of patients with diarrhoea, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), and invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis (iNTS) in three healthcare facilities in Gondar, Ethiopia. Methods We used healthcare data from patient records, interviews with family caregivers and 2020 healthcare resource unit costs. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. For diarrhoea, differences in mean and median transformed costs between healthcare facilities and etiologies (Campylobacter spp., enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica) were...
Background The parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is recognized worldwide as a pathogen causi... more Background The parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is recognized worldwide as a pathogen causing a substantial human disease burden. Ingesting improperly cooked meat containing T. gondii is considered one of the major sources of human infection in Europe and North America. Consequently, control of T. gondii infections in pigs is warranted. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advised to perform serological testing of pigs and farm audits for the presence of risk factors. Serological monitoring was implemented in several Dutch slaughterhouses. Blood samples from all deliveries of finishing pigs to the slaughterhouses were tested for the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies. Using these test results, a case-control study was initiated to assess the association between the within-herd T. gondii seroprevalence and the presence of risk factors for T. gondii infections in 69 conventional finishing pig herds in the Netherlands. Results In a multivariable model twelve potential ris...
Human Resource Development International, 2022
Additional file 2: Table S1. HACCP-based questionnaire and Pig Pointer.
Additional file 1: Figure S1. Pictures of farm situation on Farm 1. Figure S2. Pictures of rodent... more Additional file 1: Figure S1. Pictures of farm situation on Farm 1. Figure S2. Pictures of rodent surveillance cameras on Farm 4. Figure S3. Pictures of farm situation on Farm 5.
In the food industry, it is common practice to consider product quality as the physical and/or se... more In the food industry, it is common practice to consider product quality as the physical and/or sensory aspects of foods, such as size, weight, appeal or taste. However, it has also been recognized that consumer perceptions of product quality, which can be looked upon as the "fitness for consumption", ultimately determines the profitability of foods producing companies. For companies, it is therefore of central interest to link their quality systems to the perceptions of consumers. In this study we developed a model for the pig-meat industry to assess the quality of meat from entire male pigs using consumer quality scores and a withincompany quality system. The empirical database included androstenone, skatole and indole concentrations, sensory assessment scores for boar taint measured in the slaughter line, sensory assessment scores of an analytical panel, and more than two hundred consumer quality scores of fifty-five entire male pigs. It was found that the combination of inline human nose selection for boar taint and analytical panel information about taste lead to a better explanation and prediction of the fitness for consumption than the use of a model with only odour or taste variables as predictors. So, both odour and taste aspects matter.
Long-distance transport of live animals is common practice within the European Union (EU). With C... more Long-distance transport of live animals is common practice within the European Union (EU). With Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 the EU implemented legislation for animal welfare during transport. However, incidents compromising animal welfare still occur. Private certification schemes for animal welfare during long-distance transport could complement current public enforcement. This study determines the viability of such private certification schemes using a cost-benefit analysis. A partial budget model is developed that includes economic benefits due to improved animal welfare and additional operational, investment, certification and public inspection costs for transport companies and control posts for cattle, pigs, horses and sheep. Overall results reveal that the additional benefits exceed costs. However, at the species level, benefits exceed total costs only for calves and lambs, whereas benefits are lower than costs for horses, adult cattle, adult sheep and pigs. Outcomes are most sensitive to the assumed benefits of improved animal welfare and costs of public inspections.
Als Nederland - naast Duitsland, Frankrijk, Polen en Hongarije - kiest voor een verbod op het geb... more Als Nederland - naast Duitsland, Frankrijk, Polen en Hongarije - kiest voor een verbod op het gebruik van genetisch gemodificeerde (gg-)soja in veevoeder, dan zal het verbruik van sojaproducten in veevoeder in deze vijf landen moeten dalen met 40 tot 50%, om ervoor te zorgen dat de vraag naar niet-genetisch gemodificeerde soja vanuit de EU niet groter is dan de beschikbare hoeveelheid op de wereldmarkt. Op een termijn van 3 tot 5 jaar worden de extra kosten voor de Nederlandse veehouderij, vanwege het gebruik van duurdere niet-gg-soja en alternatieve eiwitbronnen, geschat op € 60 tot € 100 miljoen per jaar, waarvan circa 80% voor de pluimveehouderij. Hierbij blijft het aantal dieren en de productiviteit van de dieren gehandhaafd. Handelsstromen van veevoedergrondstoffen worden verwacht deels te verschuiven van invoer in het westen van de EU, bijvoorbeeld via de haven van Rotterdam, naar aanvoer vanuit Oost-Europa, via de weg, het spoor en het water. Er zal minder soja via Nederland de EU binnenkomen. Dit kan worden opgevangen door de toegenomen behoefte aan alternatieve eiwitbronnen. De gevolgen voor de Nederlandse havens en de transportsector en voor de werkgelegenheid hangen af van hoe handelsstromen uiteindelijk verschuiven.
The European Commission proposed the opportunity for individual EU Member States to restrict or p... more The European Commission proposed the opportunity for individual EU Member States to restrict or prohibit the use of GMOs in food or feed on their territory (a national 'opt-out'). The economic impact on individual sectors of the feed and food chain (the vegetable oil and meal industry, trade, animal feed industry, livestock sector) of a possible opt-out policy for soy by individual Member States has been assessed by LEI Wageningen UR. A single scenario was defined in which the four countries France, Germany, Poland and Hungary choose an 'opt-out' policy for soy. Consequences of this switch to non-GM soy and substitutes were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively for feed prices, for production costs for animal production, for crushing industry and for trade, with a focus on the medium term.
To keep a viable pig sector in South Korea and a high self-sufficiency in pig meat, zootechnical ... more To keep a viable pig sector in South Korea and a high self-sufficiency in pig meat, zootechnical performance, biosecurity management, and animal health management of South Korean pig farmers should be improved. Can training of South Korean farmers and training of their advisors increase the speed at which the pig sector in South Korea improves beyond the autonomous development? For all three topics, a small autonomous improvement was observed from 2017 to 2020. However, we cannot draw statistically reliable conclusions whether the two types of training increased the speed because of too few participants. Performance and management were measured in two surveys. A baseline survey, held before the first training, yielded 241 respondents and an endline survey, held after the last training, yielded 187 respondents. Of 107 respondents, we could link baseline and endline, of which eight participated in a training and 17 had their advisor in a training. Statistical analyses were performed on all respondents and on the 107 linked respondents. These included descriptive statistics and analyses of differences in responses between baseline en endline and in development between respondents with and without training and with and without their advisor in training (Wilcoxon signedrank test, paired t-test, McNemar test, Mann-Whitney U test, depending on variable type).
The assessment of changes in the relationships between supply chain agents is considered fundamen... more The assessment of changes in the relationships between supply chain agents is considered fundamental for market transformation. This paper reports on the application of a Value Chain Lab that supports the measurement of behavioral change in vertically structured supply-chain relationships. A participative gaming approach is used that enables to identify changes in mutual trust, transaction costs and risk behavior that result from value chain support and co-operation. The Value Chain Lab comprises value chain analysis, value chain games and multi-agent simulation. The paper describes the multi-agent simulation of a soy value chain in northern Ghana. The research was conducted in the context of the 2SCALE program, aiming to improve rural livelihoods and food and nutrition security in a number of African countries by developing agricultural supply chains including local smallholder farmers. The study confirms the positive effects of trust and loyalty in value chain relationships. Furth...
EU Bioeconomy Economics and Policies: Volume I, 2019
The EU remains under threat of communicable diseases of livestock that may have a severe economic... more The EU remains under threat of communicable diseases of livestock that may have a severe economic impact or that are of public health significance or both. Such diseases may be introduced and spread by the trading of animals and their products. Measures in line with international agreements are required to prevent the introduction of disease, to control its spread and to protect animal and human health, and to provide safe, wholesome food for European consumers. The EU’s Animal Health Strategy 2013–2017, the Common Financial Framework and the Animal Health Law contributed to the recent update of the EU’s animal health policy. Although the EU’s animal health policy is evaluated to be clearly effective, its cost-effectiveness (efficiency) is difficult to determine.
Fostering of inclusive business aiming to involve low-income communities in value chains is a rec... more Fostering of inclusive business aiming to involve low-income communities in value chains is a recent approach to alleviate poverty in developing countries. The approach requires new impact assessment tools to measure changes in farm income and transaction cost, and behavioural change in value chain relationships. An agent-based simulation combined with games is proposed for the assessment of a project developing sorghum production and marketing in Meru County, Kenya. Contracts between a local sorghum processor and smallholders have a central role. Trust between farmers and the processor and mutual trust in farmer groups are key success factors. The simulations indicate that the approach can lead to increased farm incomes. Continuity of the contract system depends on the extent to which contracted farmers can be trusted not to side-sell when market prices are high. However, the simulated production remains at an increased level even if the contract system breaks down.
European food safety legislation allows for a new type of meat inspection in swine. This 'riskbas... more European food safety legislation allows for a new type of meat inspection in swine. This 'riskbased meat inspection without incision' or 'supply chain meat inspection' (SCMI) uses food chain information to derive a veterinary prognosis on the pigs' health prior to delivery and allows for visual inspection of pig carcasses. Slaughter companies who want to implement SCMI must develop their risk-based system and have it approved by the competent authority. Companies implementing SCMI in a border region have to consider the prerequisites of a number of competent authorities. In turn competent authorities have to cope with the special conditions and requirements of a cross border economic region. Within workpackage 3.1 of the INTERREG-IV-A project SAFEGUARD issues were addressed that arise from the conduct of SCMI in a cross-border context. The goal of workpackage 3.1 was the exchange of information and mutual development of governmental control and verification systems in pig meat inspection in the Netherlands and the two neighbouring German federal states North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Within this workpackage, the goal of this study was to assess differences between the control and verification systems in pig meat inspection in these three EU-regions in order to aid the mutual cross-border development of such systems. This report provides a comparative review of the control systems of pork safety in the Netherlands and the two neighbouring German federal states North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, with emphasis on issues concerning SCMI. Project This report was written within the work package 3.1 "D-NL Forum zur Weiterentwicklung des Ansatzes "amtliche Kontrolle der betrieblichen Eigenkontrollsysteme-toezicht op controle" im Bereich der risikoorientierten Fleischuntersuchung" of the INTERREG-IV-A project SAFEGUARD. The report describes the situation in 2010, unless otherwise indicated.
Background: Informal markets are vital to food and job security across many low- and middle-incom... more Background: Informal markets are vital to food and job security across many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). There is emerging data on microbiological food safety hazards and risks along food supply chains that allow targeting mitigation options. Efforts include training in better practices and technologies, but these have mostly targeted production, neglecting the market-based processing and retail level, where much cross-contamination occurs, exposing the final consumer to risk. Poor practices are largely due to a lack of knowledge and appropriate technology but also lack of incentives to change poor practices. Previous studies have shown that even poor consumers do care about the safety of their food but have no alternatives in the market or little power to demand for safer food. Objectives: This four-year project (2019 to 2022) investigates if consumer demand can provide the same incentive or "pull approach" for microbiological food safety in LMIC as it has done in high-income countries. It also builds capacity of value chain actors to respond to demand and of regulators to provide an enabling environment (the “push approach”). At the same time, it strengthens food safety capacity at national level through generating evidence on the national burden of foodborne diseases and selected hazards and risks in chicken meat and vegetables. Methods: The project is organized in seven technical work packages: 1) Estimating burden and cost of key foodborne illnesses in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia; 2) Understanding the poultry and vegetable value chains in urban markets in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia; 3) Quantitative microbial risk assessment and cost-effectiveness analysis of candidate market-based interventions; 4) Build capacity and motivation of regulators to manage food safety (intervention 1, push approach); 5) Empower market-level value chain actors to manage food safety (intervention 2, push approach); 6) Design and implementation of a consumer campaign (intervention 3, pull approach); 7) conduct an impact assessment of the push-pull intervention. Expected results: Investments that improve public health are considered highly rewarding. With this project we aim to achieve measurably safer food, credentialed capacity in regulators and value chain actors, improvements in knowledge and practice among value chain actors, and improvements in food safety awareness and practices among consumers
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Papers by Coen Van Wagenberg