It is 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, 8 June. The first rays of daylight are barely touching the stalls of the Mfoundi market in Yaoundé, and the multi-sector team from Cameroon's One Health (OH) platform is already up and running. Dressed in the colours of the Zoonoses Programme, these experts are not there to do their shopping, but for a vital mission: to raise awareness among those who feed us. 

But why such a mobilisation? Because health security begins where the label ends. Here are 5 secrets you need to know.

A label may say ‘Origin: Cameroon’, but it will never tell you whether the product has been transported in poor hygienic conditions. That is why the USS teams took to the market aisles, reminding transporters and street vendors that the safety chain must never be broken, from the field to the counter.

In the fresh food section of Mfoundi, the message was clear: a product that looks healthy can harbour invisible bacteria. Experts emphasised to bayam-sellam vendors the importance of proper food handling. The secret? Safety depends as much on the quality of the product as on the cleanliness of the hands that touch it. 

The label on a prepared dish never mentions the condition of the kitchen. This is the whole point of the dialogue with street food vendors. For food to save lives instead of threatening them, the workspace and utensils must meet rigorous inspection standards that only a trained eye can verify.

We often forget that behind every piece of meat at the butcher's, there is (or should be) a veterinary inspection process. The multi-sector team emphasized the importance of sourcing from healthy sources that have complied with the measures in force. Without this invisible stamp of approval, the label is just a piece of paper.

The last and arguably most important secret: the label cannot do everything. Food safety is a collective effort. Organised in partnership with Breakthrough ACTION and GIZ, this campaign at the Mfoundi market proves that information is the first ingredient in a safe meal.

Armed with flyers, posters and leaflets, the dozen or so members of the programme gave no quarter to health risks. From butchers to fishmongers, the message was the same: ‘Healthy food to save lives’.

On this international day, let us remember that vigilance does not stop at reading an expiry date. It is cultivated through dialogue between experts, retailers and consumers, as was the case in the bustling streets of our political capital.