Scientists have looked into how much attention food safety and foodborne diseases are getting in One Health research.
The study, which investigates trends in One Health research over the past decade, found that the volume of work labeled One Health has increased since 2018. It was published in the CABI One Health journal. CABI is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on agriculture and the environment.
One Health is an approach designed to optimize the health of people, animals, plants, ecosystems and the environment.
The One Health Quadripartite has a Joint Plan of Action (JPA) 2022 to 2026 framework. The Quadripartite, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), outlined six priority areas in the JPA. Action Track 4 includes food safety.
Pesticides and mycotoxins gap
The study covered trends in 6,168 publications self-labeled as One Health from 2010 to 2024. Scientists acknowledged this approach led to inclusion of some studies that misused the term while excluding ones that could qualify but didn’t self-label.
The work assessed whether current research trends emphasize zoonotic and foodborne diseases and antimicrobial resistance, as has historically been the case, or if there is now a more holistic understanding of the concept.
Although there were papers relating to pesticides and mycotoxins, the volume was too small for them to be identified by the topic modeling algorithm. The number of publications related to these two issues during 2015 to 2024 was compared to two areas identified by the topic model.
Researchers found the impact of pesticides and mycotoxins on food safety have had less research output, compared to zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance.
The analysis revealed topics identified as relevant to Action Track 4 focus almost entirely on foodborne diseases, while mycotoxins and pesticide residues are largely absent, despite their high impact on food and feed safety and trade.
Regional imbalance
Data from the study showed food safety research was not as strongly emphasized within One Health. However, there is growing recognition that environmental contamination with pathogens, heavy metals, pesticides and antimicrobial residues contributes to the emergence and spread of foodborne diseases and AMR.
Food safety seemed to be a focus for policy documents that cite One Health research in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden.
CABI said a lot of research is focused on health issues in Africa and Asia but is mostly led by researchers from Europe and North America.
Institutes in high income countries wield most of the power when it comes to One Health agenda-setting, meaning low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may struggle to drive research priorities that address their specific needs and are forced instead to focus on issues deemed globally significant.
Dr. Dannie Romney, an author of the research and project director of CABI’s One Health Hub, said: “The inequalities and under-representation of researchers from LMICs are a huge problem.
“They may not only undermine buy-in to the research but may also lead to research being ignored by local entities, or at worst foster resentment and distrust among research communities.”
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