Understanding how food safety risk perception influences dietary decision making among women in Phenom Phnom Penh, Cambodia: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine women's perception of the risk of food safety and how it relates to diet, health and decision making as part of formative research for a market-based intervention that aims to improve the safety of animal-source foods sold in informal markets. DESIGN: Qualitative study including in-depth personal interviews with 24 caregivers were conducted and complemented with a second follow-up PhotoVoice interview, which allowed the women to photograph their meals and perceptions of food safety and nutrition. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis in MAXQDA. Participants were purposively sampled from a larger Safe Food, Fair Food for Cambodia study, conducted from May to August 2018. SETTING: Urban and periurban neighborhoods of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. PARTICIPANTS: 24 female caregivers (mothers and grandmothers) of children under age 5, each interviewed twice. FINDINGS: A primary food safety concern expressed was that chemicals (pesticides and other agricultural additives) in animal-source foods, fruits and vegetables may impact the health of their families by causing diarrhoea and problems during pregnancy. This fear created a lack of trust in markets, which influenced their food purchasing behaviours and strategies for making the food safer for their families. These mitigation strategies, including food selection and cleaning, vary among the women but are perceived as important to be able to provide their families with what they define as safe meals. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that wish to decrease rates of foodborne illness and increase animal source food consumption should also address the belief that the food system has been compromised by the addition of pesticides and agricultural additives.

Effects of supplementing different levels of sun-dried groundnut foliage on intake, apparent digestibility and nitrogen metabolism in cattle offered a basal diet of a mixture of rice straw and para grass.

Eight male Cambodian yellow cattle, initial body weight (BW) 136 ± 11.9 (±SD) kg; age 20 ± 2.5 (±SD) months, were randomly allocated to treatments in a double 4 × 4 Latin square design to investigate the effects of different levels of crude protein (CP) from sun-dried groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) foliage (DGF) on feed intake, apparent digestibility and nitrogen metabolism. All animals were fed a basal diet of rice straw ad libitum and para grass (Brachiaria mutica) at 1% of BW. The DGF was offered as a supplement at 0, 1, 2 and 3 g CP/kg BW, denoted DGF0, DGF1, DGF2 and DGF3, respectively. The results showed that the intake of DGF contributed 0, 25, 34 and 42% of total dry matter (DM) intake. Rice straw intake decreased when DGF intake increased. Total intake of DM, organic matter (OM), digestible OM, ash, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre increased with increased level of DGF inclusion but did not differ for the two highest DGF levels. Total DM intake as proportion of BW increased from 2.3% in DGF0 to 2.8% in DGF3. Crude protein digestibility and nitrogen retention improved as DGF intake increased. Daily weight gain of DGF1 cattle was higher than DGF0 but was not further improved at the higher levels of DGF inclusion. Microbial protein synthesis and efficiency of microbial protein production in DGF1 did not differ from DGF0 but both measures were higher in DGF2 and DGF3. The responses were diminished at higher DGF inclusion so it is suggested that DGF supplementation at 1 g CP/kg BW may be the optimal level.

Survey of smallholder beef cattle production systems in different agro-ecological zones of Cambodia.

A survey was conducted to better understand the contribution of farm productivity to rural household income and identify differences in production systems, feeding practices and development constraints to smallholder beef cattle producers in the four agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of Cambodia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 360 households in the four AEZs: I, the Great Lake Floodplain; II, the Mekong Floodplain; III, the Coastal and IV, the Plateau/Mountainous. In addition, samples of common nutritional resources used for cattle feed were collected for nutrient composition analysis, plus cattle were scored for body condition. Rice farming and cattle production were the most common sources of income in all AEZs. The average cattle herd size was 3.7 (SD = 2.4), but the majority of households raised 1-3 animals. The most common cattle management system was grazing with supplementation, mainly with rice straw and 'cut-and-carry' natural grasses fed during the wet season in all AEZs. The body condition score of all cattle types was 3.2 (SD = 0.8), except for cows in lactation that were 1.8. Major constraints to cattle production in AEZs I, II and III were lack of quality feed resources, capital for cattle production and concerns on breed quality, whereas in AEZ IV, diseases were identified as the main constraint. This survey confirms the importance of cattle to smallholders in the four AEZs. Interventions including farmer education to improve husbandry skills, increase the utilisation of forages and crop residues and address disease issues are necessary to enhance cattle production and rural livelihoods in Cambodia.