[Street food series, looking at foods that cut across the income divide, eaten by rich, and by poor]
Sun-dried beef jerky, largely made by hand in the north of Nigeria and distributed across the country. It relies on the sun for effective drying and production so the rains hamper production and impact livelihoods. Production methods are largely manual with meat sliced by hand, seasoning pastes mixed, dipped and spread on papyrus or corn stalks to dry.
There are a number of health concerns with direct contact with raw meat and the drying process. Though final meat sheets are flame-smoked over open fires, concerns remain.
In addition, the impact of open, non-controlled smoke on the producers and the finished product are not properly evaluated and widely known.
