Jenifer James
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Trade and Industry, William Anyuon, hailed the Bureau of Standards, saying the body has stepped up on its mandate and that people no longer consume substandard food.
Speaking during the handover of equipment to the Bureau of State Coordinators on Thursday, Anyuon said there is a lot of improvement in the safety of food products in the country thanks to the efforts of the bureau.
“People have been complaining of different diseases in the country previously, most of which they think are associated with climate change,” he said, adding that all this is due to the substandard consumption of food.
“We are addressing the insecurity of the people of South Sudan by ensuring that the products that are coming in from different countries, whether food or medicine that people are taking in, are meeting the standard,” he said.
Anyuon said that some traders are trying to bring in goods that are not meeting the standards in the country.
“Some people somewhere are thinking that South Sudan is a young country and trying to bring in substandard goods and dump them in the country, which we consume; now there is no longer a consumption of substandard food since the bureau and Ministry of Trade are handling this in the country,” he added.
Anyuon stated that there is a need for collective responsibility by the citizens and the authorities not to compromise with substandard goods.
He asserted that the welfare of the staff and the health of the people of South Sudan are the first priorities of the government in the country.
Last month, the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards destroyed more than 30 tonnes of expired food and non-food items.
These items were collected in December 2023 during the campaign that targeted expired, damaged, counterfeit, and substandard goods from the markets.
The chairperson of the South Sudan Bureau of Standards, Dr. Kuorwel Kuai Kuorwel, said that during the campaign, the team was able to collect more than 5,000 items of expired and substandard commercial items from different locations in Juba.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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