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Africa Food Health Quality Index (Africa-Centric)

Data Collection
 

Open Consultation: Ghana - First African Food Health Quality Index

Purpose -

To evaluate the effectiveness of Ghana’s food laws, legislation, and policies by tracking the health quality of food products in the marketplace over time.

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Sampling Strategy 

Product selection is a randomised sampling of packaged and unpackaged foods across major markets and retail outlets. Category coverage includes staples, processed foods, beverages, snacks, and traditional items.

Geographic Spread is urban, peri-urban, and rural markets to ensure representativeness.

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Six Key Indicators to Track Annually Starting October 2025

1. Health and Nutrition Indicators

2. Food and Safety Supply Chain Compliance Indicators

3. Cultural and Heritage Indicators

4. Regulatory Compliance and Transparency Indicators

5. Environment and Land Stewardship Indicators

6. Economic and Social Justice Indicators

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Data Collection
AI-Powered Label Extraction

1. OCR + NLP Models to extract and interpret label text from product images online.

2. Custom AI Pipelines that train models to detect compliance issues or missing info.

3. Use Case to monitor ingredient changes or health claims over time.

[1] Health & Nutrition Indicators (40%)

 

  • Nutrient Density Score - Does the food address common African nutritional deficiencies? (e.g. iron, zinc, folate, protein, vitamin A, etc.)

  • Processed Level - Whole foods & minimally processed 

  • Sugar, Salt & Oil Check         Levels of sugar, salt, and saturated/trans fats - are they aligned with the Africa CDC health target (reducing hypertension /diabetes)?

  • Flag products with harmful additives (e.g. banned colourings, excessive preservatives)

  • Biofortification use - Does the food incorporate biofortified crops (e.g., vitamin A, cassava, iron beans)?

[2] Food and safety -Supply Chain Compliance Indicators (15%)

  • Local Productions, Animals and Crops - Name and address of producer or manufacturer—shows traceability to approved sources​

  • Harvesting - Batch or lot number—helps track harvest timing and location​

  • Post-Harvest Storage - Storage instructions—e.g., “Keep refrigerated” or “Store in a cool, dry place”​

  • Processing - Ingredient list and processing details—indicates food safety and hygiene compliance​

  • Distribution and Transportation - Expiry date and best-before date—reflects cold chain integrity and handling quality​​​

[3] Cultural & Heritage Indicators (10%)

  • Indigenous Crop Usage - % of food ingredients from traditional African crops (fonio, teff, moringa, okra, sorghum).

  • Preservation of Culinary Traditions - Does it maintain authentic preparation methods (e.g., stone-ground grains, fermentation).

  • ​Language Accessibility - Are labels available in local languages?

  • Ultra-Processed Diets - Does the product avoid being a replacement for staple traditional meals?

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[4] Regulatory Compliance & Transparency (15%)

  • Compliance with national food safety authorities (FDA Ghana, KEBS, NAFDAC, etc...)

  • Adherence to Codex Alimentarius and international standards

  • ​Track record: recalls, contamination, or legal violations

  • Clear, honest ingredient lists & nutrition facts

  • Origin & certification info displayed (local/organic/fair trade)

  • No misleading health claims

[5] Environment & Land Stewardship Indicators (10%)

  • Deforestation-Free Certification - Were forests, savannahs, or wetlands protected during production?

  • Soil Health Practices - Use of crop rotation, composting, agroforestry  Vs. heavy chemical dependence.

  • Water Efficiency - Does production avoid water-intensive monocultures (e.g., imported rice replacing local millet)?

  • Climate Resilience - Promotes crops adopted to drought & climate stress (e.g., sorghum, bambara groundnut)

[6] Economic & Social Justice Indicators (10%)

  • Smallholder Inclusion - % of ingredients sourced from African smallholder farmers

  • Fair Pay & Value Chain Equity - Are farmers getting fair prices or being undercut by imports?

  • Local Vs Imported Ratio - % of food inputs sourced within region or country.

  • Women & Youth Empowerment  - Are women or youth actively involved in production/processing?

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