Africa and the Nexus of poverty, malnutrition and diseases.

This review examines the nexus of poverty, malnutrition and diseases in Africa, the challenges, implications and their mitigation. The paper takes a critical look at available literatures on the primary causes, modes, implications and solutions to the problems of poverty, malnutrition and diseases in Africa continent. Poverty and malnutrition are outcomes of uncontrolled rapid population growth, inefficient agricultural and industrial practices, high debt profile of many African countries due to poor governance and corruption, diseases such as AIDS epidemic, malaria, Ebola virus and COVID-19 pandemic, poor and inadequate health infrastructure and armed conflicts. African poverty scenario entails non-availability of basic human needs which makes many Africans to be very poor. Despite abundance of natural resources, the gross domestic product per capita of many African countries is among the lowest of list of nations of the world. According United Nation in 2009, 22 of 24 nations among the "Low Human Development" nations of the world on the UN's Human Development Index were found in sub-Saharan Africa. Out of the 50 countries on the United Nation list of least developed countries, 34 of them were in Africa. According to FAO data over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were undernourished in 2014-2016. The prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 181 million in 2010 to 222 million in 2016. In 2016, Africa had the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world and estimated to be 20% of the population. While this was alarming in Eastern Africa where one-third of the population is suspected to be undernourished. In a similar data, World Bank also found that sub-Saharan Africa Poverty and Equity Data was 47% with over 500 million people in abject poverty in 2012. Poverty is the major cause of hunger and malnutrition in Africa while hunger and malnutrition escalated the problem of diseases in African continent. Poverty has continued to torment Africa as a result of poor and harmful economic policies, conflict and war, environmental factors like drought and climate change and population growth, poor leadership and greed. With the advent of COVID-19, the problem of poverty, malnutrition and diseases has been escalated and in many African countries people find it difficult to make ends meet.

A comprehensive review of the role of microorganisms on texture change, flavor and biogenic amines formation in fermented meat with their action mechanisms and safety.

Meat fermentation ensures its preservation, improved safety and quality. This prominently used traditional process has survived for ages, creating physical, biochemical, and microbial changes, and to significantly affect the functionality, organoleptic property, and nutrition of the fermented products. In some process, the growth of various pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms is inhibited. The production of fermented meat relies on naturally occurring enzymes (in the muscle or the intestinal tract) as well as microbial metabolic activities. In this review, fermented meat types and their health benefits were firstly introduced. This was followed by a description of fermentation conditions vis-à-vis starters, bacterial, yeast and mold cultures, and their role in meat. The review focuses on how microorganisms affect texture change, flavor formation, and biogenic amines (BA) accumulation in fermented meat. In addition, the production conditions and the major biochemical changes in fermented meat products were also introduced to present the best factors influencing the quality of fermented meat. Microorganisms and microbial enzymes in fermented meats were discussed as they could affect organoleptic characteristics of fermented meats. Moreover, safety concerns and prospects for further research of fermented meat were also discussed with emphasis on novel probiotic and starter cultures development; bioinformatics, omics technologies and data modeling to maximize the benefit from fermentation process in meat production.

Perspectives on the trends, challenges and benefits of green, smart and organic (GSO) foods.

Rapid rate of industrialization has turned our planet around in favor of fast foods, food fraud, food terrorism, food waste, food adulteration, food poisoning, food contamination and food injustice, paving the path for green, smart and organic products. Green foods are grown and harvested in the absence of any form of environmental pollution or harmful conditions. Smart foods are termed to be good for the consumers, farmers and the planet. Organic foods are regarded as "credence goods" because some of the attributes that consumers may consider are neither obvious nor easily verified. Therefore, these three terms are interconnected as they forge a substantive common denominator - healthfulness. The concepts of green, smart and organic (GSO) foods are herein recounted together with their interdependence and relationship to health and sustainability. The processes, policies and global trends of GSO foods were discussed, whilst not undermining the benefits and challenges associated with them.