Foods 2021, 10, 2244. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10102244 www.mdpi.com/journal/foods Article Analysis of Food Safety Management Systems in the Beef Meat Processing and Distribution Chain in Uganda Siya Balaam Jeffer 1 , Issmat I. Kassem 2 , Samer A. Kharroubi 3 and Gumataw Kifle Abebe 4, * 1 National Food Safety Foundation (NFSF), The Affiliated Institution of the Food Safety Associates Limited, Kampala P.O. Box 2244, Uganda; Balaamjeffer@gmail.com 2 Center for Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223‐1797, USA; issmat.kassem@uga.edu 3 Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107‐2020, Lebanon; sk157@aub.edu.lb 4 Department of Business and Social Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada * Correspondence: gm591736@dal.ca Abstract: Meat production is an essential component in food security and the economy in Uganda. However, food safety concerns pose a challenge to public health in Uganda and impede access to regional and global markets. Here, food safety management (FSM) practices in the Ugandan beef supply chain were evaluated. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted in major slaughterhouses (n = 3), butcher shops (n = 184), and supermarkets (n = 25) in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The three slaughterhouses had low scores in core control and assurance activities of FSM. Packaging interven‐ tions were weak in all the slaughterhouses, while only one slaughterhouse had a functional cooling facility. Supermarkets implemented better hygienic and preventative practices in comparison to butcher shops. However, both sourced from slaughterhouses that had low‐to‐poor hygiene prac‐ tices, which weakened the efforts implemented in the supermarkets. Furthermore, most butcher shops did not offer training to meat handlers on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)‐based practices. The low food safety performance in the supply chain was primarily at‐ tributed to poor sanitation, hygiene, and handling practices. Therefore, HACCP‐based training and robust preventive, intervention, and monitoring systems are needed in the Ugandan beef supply chain to benefit public health and increase competitiveness. Keywords: food safety management; meat hygiene practices; beef supply chain; Uganda 1. Introduction Due to the increase in population, urbanization, and income, demand for meat has surged globally. This trend has also been observed in Uganda, where meat production is considered an essential component of the economy and food security [1]. According to the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, and Fisheries and the Uganda National Bureau of Statistic survey (2018) [2], Uganda is estimated to have over 14 million cattle, 16 million goats, 4 million sheep, 47 million chickens, and 4 million pigs. About 4.5 million households (70.8%) farm at least one kind of livestock or poultry [3,4]. The indigenous breeds dominate the Ugandan cattle production, which is primarily considered to be an extensive system. Furthermore, the meat sector contributes about 9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 17% of the agricultural GDP [5]. In Uganda, meat consumption is the highest in the capital and the largest city of Uganda, Kampala, where demand for beef is estimated to be 15,500 tons annually [5]. Taken together, these observations highlight the importance of the meat supply chain for the economy and as a source of protein for the population. Citation: Jeffer, S.B.; Kassem, I.I.; Kharroubi, S.A.; Abebe, G.K. Analysis of Food Safety Management Systems in the Beef Meat Processing and Distribution Chain in Uganda. Foods 2021, 10, 2244. https://doi.org/10.3390/ foods10102244 Academic Editors: Bahar Aliakbar‐ ian and María José Beriáin Apesteguía Received: 24 July 2021 Accepted: 19 September 2021 Published: 22 September 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu‐ tral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu‐ tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Li‐ censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and con‐ ditions of the Creative Commons At‐ tribution (CC BY) license (http://crea‐ tivecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).