GAIN Working Paper Series 40: Bringing Food Safety to the Shoppers


Reducing foodborne disease in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is crucial for advancing nutrition, health, and other development goals. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Feed the Future’s Evidence and Action Towards Safe, Nutritious Food (EatSafe) program sought to harness consumer demand as a mechanism to improve food safety practices and generate evidence on how to raise consumer demand for safe, nutritious foods in traditional market settings—the main source of food for most LMIC consumers. To this end, EatSafe in Nigeria tested four community interventions, including an in-market Safe Food Stand that provided consumers with food safety information, demonstrations, and trainings in the markets where they shopped. This paper reports on the results of an implementation research study that sought to understand how Stand staff and visitors perceived the intervention, drawing lessons for future similar approaches.