Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T12:45:19.689Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: Micronutrient Content and Fungal Contamination of Foods in Developing Countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Vivian Hoffmann
Vivian Hoffmann*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The negative effects of micronutrient deficiencies on human capital acquisition and economic productivity are well documented. A less well understood but potentially serious threat to human health in developing countries is the contamination of food crops by fungal toxins. This paper surveys what is known about the health and economic burdens attributable to insufficient micronutrients and toxic contamination of food in developing countries, discusses consumer demand for micronutrients and food safety, and describes some of the challenges to improving population nutrition, particularly in rural areas.

Keywords

food safetymicronutrientsaflatoxindeveloping countries
Type
Invited Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , October 2009 , pp. 100 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamson, P. 2004. “Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency: A Global Progress Report.” UNICEF and the Micronutrient Initiative. P&LA, Oxfordshire, UK.Google Scholar
Ahmed, M.F., Ahuja, S., Alauddin, M., and Hug, S.J. 2006. “Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Bangladesh.” Science 314(5806): 1687–1688.Google Scholar
Albrecht, J. Undated. “Biotechnology and Vitamin A Deficiency in Developing Countries: A Comparative Economic Assessment of Golden Rice.” Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.Google Scholar
Ashraf, N., Berry, J., and Shapiro, J.M. 2007. “Can Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia.” NBER Working Paper No. W13247, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Ashraf, N., Karlan, D., and Yin, W. 2006. “Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence from a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 121(2): 635–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attig, G.A., Smitasiri, S., Ittikom, K., and Dhanamitta, S. 1993. “Promoting Home Gardening to Control Vitamin A Deficiency in Northeastern Thailand.” Food, Nutrition and Agriculture 7: 18–25. Available at http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/publications/fna/ (accessed October 13, 2009).Google Scholar
Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., and Glennerster, R. 2009. “Is Decentralized Iron Fortification a Feasible Option to Fight Anemia Among the Poorest?” Unpublished working paper, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA.Google Scholar
Basta, S., Soekirman, S., Karyadi, D., and Scrimshaw, N. 1979. “Iron Deficiency Anemia and the Productivity of Adult Males in Indonesia.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32(4): 916–925.Google Scholar
Behrman, J.R., Hoddinott, J., Maluccio, J.A., and Martorell, R. 2009. “Brains versus Brawn: Labor Market Returns to Intellectual and Physical Human Capital in a Poor Developing Country.” Paper presented at the Pacific Conference for Development Economics, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA (March 14).Google Scholar
Betrán, F.J., Isakeit, T., and Odvody, G. 2002. “Aflatoxin Accumulation of White and Yellow Maize Inbreds in Diallel Crosses.” Crop Science 42(6): 1894–1901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, R. 2003. “Micronutrient Deficiency: An Underlying Cause of Morbidity and Mortality.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81(2): 79.Google Scholar
Block, S.A. 2004. “Maternal Nutrition Knowledge and the Demand for Micronutrient-Rich Foods: Evidence from Indonesia.” The Journal of Development Studies 40(6): 82–105.Google Scholar
Boxall, R.A. 2001. “Post-Harvest Losses to Insects: A World Overview.” International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 48(1): 137–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruns, A.H. 2003. “Controlling Aflatoxin and Fumonisin in Maize by Crop Management.” Journal of Toxicology 22(2/3): 153–173.Google Scholar
Caulfield, L.E., Richard, S.A., Rivera, J.A., and Musgrove, P. 2006. “Stunting, Wasting, and Micronutrient Deficiency Disorders.” In Jamison, D.T., Breman, J.G., Measham, A.R., Alleyne, G., Claeson, M., Evans, D.B., Jha, P., Mills, A., and Musgrove, P., eds., Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (2nd edition). Co-published by Oxford University Press (New York) and The World Bank (Washington, D.C.).Google Scholar
Chowdhury, S., Meenakshi, J.V., Tomlins, K., and Owori, C. 2009. “Are Consumers Willing to Pay More for Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda.” HarvestPlus Working Paper No. 3, HarvestPlus, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Dasgupta, S., Meisner, C., and Huq, M. 2007. “A Pinch or a Pint? Evidence of Pesticide Overuse in Bangladesh.” Journal of Agricultural Economics 58(1): 91–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Groote, H., and Kimenju, S.C. 2008. “Comparing Consumer Preferences for Color and Nutritional Quality in Maize: Application of a Semi-Double-Bound Logistic Model on Urban Consumers in Kenya.” Food Policy 33(4): 362–370.Google Scholar
Dupas, P., Kremer, M., and Zwane, A. 2009. “Paying for Solutions.” Paper presented at the Water and Human Well-Being Executive Session on Grand Challenges of the Sustainability Transition, at Venice International University, in Venice, Italy (July 20-21).Google Scholar
Ecobichon, D.J. 2001. “Pesticide Use in Developing Countries.” Toxicology 160(1): 27–33.Google Scholar
Edgerton, V., Gardner, G., Ohira, Y., Gunawardena, K., and Senewiratne, B. 1979. “Iron-Deficiency Anaemia and Its Effect on Worker Productivity and Activity Patterns.” British Medical Journal 2(6204): 1546–1549.Google Scholar
Fandohan, P., Hell, K., and Marasas, W.F.O. 2008. “Food Processing to Reduce Mycotoxins in Africa.” In Leslie, J.F., Bandyopadhyay, R., Visconti, A., eds., Mycotoxins: Detection Methods, Management, Public Health and Agricultural Trade. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK: CABI.Google Scholar
Feyrer, J., Politi, D., and Weil, D.N. 2008. “The Economic Effects of Micronutrient Deficiency: Evidence from Salt Iodization in the United States.” Working paper, Department of Economics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.Google Scholar
Field, E.M., Robles, O., and Torero, M. 2008. “The Cognitive Link Between Geography and Development: Iodine Deficiency and Schooling Attainment in Tanzania.” NBER Working Paper No. 13838, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hainaut, P., and Boyle, P. 2008. “Curbing the Liver Cancer Epidemic in Africa.” The Lancet 371(9610): 367–368.Google Scholar
Haxton, D.P. 2009. Personal communication with David P. Haxton, Executive Director of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (July 25).Google Scholar
Horton, S. 2006. “The Economics of Food Fortification.” Journal of Nutrition 136(4): 1068–1071.Google Scholar
Horton, S., and Ross, J. 2003. “The Economics of Iron Deficiency.” Food Policy 28(1): 51–75.Google Scholar
James, B., Adda, C., Cardwell, K., and Annang, D. 2007. “Public Information Campaign on Aflatoxin Contamination of Maize Grains in Market Stores in Benin, Ghana and Togo.” Food Additives and Contaminants 24(11): 1283–1291.Google Scholar
Kaaya, N.A., and Warren, H.L. 2005. “A Review of Past and Present Research of Aflatoxin in Uganda.” African Journal of Food Agriculture and Nutritional Development 5(1).Google Scholar
Kremer, M., Miguel, E., Mullainathan, S., Null, C., and Zwane, A. 2009. “Making Water Safe: Price, Persuasion, Peers, Promoters or Product Design.” Unpublished paper, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Laibson, D.I. 1997. “Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 112(2): 443–477.Google Scholar
Li, R., Chen, X., Yan, H., Deurenberg, P., Garby, L., and Hautvast, J. 1994. “Functional Consequences of Iron Supplementation in Iron-Deficient Female Cotton Workers in Beijing, China.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59(4): 908–913.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lozoff, B., Beard, J., Connor, J., Felt, B., Georgieff, M., and Schallert, T. 2006. “Long-Lasting Neural and Behavioral Effects of Iron Deficiency in Infancy.” Nutrition Reviews 64(1): 34–43.Google Scholar
Mahajan, A., Tarozzi, A., Yoong, J., and Blackburn, B. 2008. “Bednets, Information and Malaria in Orissa.” Paper presented at the World Bank Poverty and Applied Micro Seminar Series, World Bank, Washington, D.C. (December 10).Google Scholar
Mason, J.B., Musgrove, P., and Habicht, J.P. 2003. “At Least One-Third of Poor Countries’ Disease Burden Is Due to Malnutrition.” Disease Control Priorities Project Working Paper No. 1, Fogarty International Center, U.S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.Google Scholar
Mason, J., Rivers, J., and Helwig, C. 2005. “Recent Trends in Malnutrition in Developing Regions: Vitamin A Deficiency, Anemia, Iodine Deficiency, and Child Underweight.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin 26(1): 57–108.Google Scholar
Meenakshi, J.V., Johnson, N., Mayong, V.M., and De Groote, H. 2007. “How Cost-Effective Is Biofortification in Combating Micronutrient Malnutrition? An Ex-Ante Assessment.” HarvestPlus Working Paper No. 2, HarvestPlus, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Mideros, S.X., Windham, G.L., Williams, W.P., and Nelson, R.J. 2009. “Aspergillus flavus Biomass in Maize Estimated by Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Is Strongly Correlated with Aflatoxin Concentration.” Plant Disease 93(11): 1163–1170.Google Scholar
Muzhingi, T., Langyintuo, A.S., Malaba, L.C., and Banziger, M. 2008. “Consumer Acceptability of Yellow Maize Products in Zimbabwe.” Food Policy 33(4): 352–361.Google Scholar
Otsuki, T., Wilson, J.S., and Sewadeh, M. 2001. “Saving Two in a Billion: Quantifying the Trade Effect of European Food Safety Standards on African Exports.” Food Policy 26(5): 495–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smale, M., Heisey, P.W., and Leathers, H.D. 1995. “Maize of the Ancestors and Modern Varieties: The Microeconomics of High-Yielding Variety Adoption in Malawi.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 43(2): 351–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, D.J. 1996. “Pesticide Use, Habits and Health Awareness among Egyptian Farmers.” Ambio 25(6): 425–426.Google Scholar
Strosnider, H., Azziz-Baumgartner, E., Banziger, M., and Bhat, R.V. 2006. “Workgroup Report: Public Health Strategies for Reducing Aflatoxin Exposure in Developing Countries.” Environmental Health Perspectives 114(12): 1898–1903.Google Scholar
Thomas, D., Frankenberg, E., Friedman, J., and Habicht, J.-P. 2006. “Causal Effect of Health on Labor Market Outcomes: Experimental Evidence.” Working Paper No. CCPR-070-06, California Center for Population Research, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Turner, P.C., Sylla, A., Gong, Y.Y., and Diallo, M.S. 2005. “Reduction in Exposure to Carcinogenic Aflatoxins by Post-harvest Intervention Measures in West Africa: A Community-Based Intervention Study.” The Lancet 365(9475): 1950–1956.Google Scholar
WHO-CHOICE. 2005. “Choosing Interventions That Are Cost Effective.” Available at http://www.who.int/choice/en/ (accessed September 29, 2009).Google Scholar
Wild, C.P., Jansen, L.A., Cova, L., and Montesano, R. 1993. “Molecular Dosimetry of Aflatoxin Exposure: Contribution to Understanding the Multifactorial Etiopathogenesis of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Particular Reference to Hepatitis B Virus.” Environmental Health Perspectives 99: 115–122.Google Scholar
Williams, J., Phillips, T.D., Jolly, P.E., Stiles, J.K., Jolly, C.M., and Aggarwal, D. 2004. “Human Aflatoxicosis in Developing Countries: A Review of Toxicology, Exposure, Potential Health Consequences, and Interventions.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80(5): 1106–1122.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1995. Enriching Lives: Overcoming Vitamin and Mineral Malnutrition in Developing Countries. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar