Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Tanzania Dairy Board (TDB) has inspected, seized and removed from the market different counterfeit and unlicensed milk products that have been smuggled into the country from varied countries by some unscrupulous traders.
Moreover, the vital crackdown conducted by the stateowned board at different retail and supermarkets within the capital city Dodoma also managed to identify and remove from the market expired milk products.
The Registrar of Tanzania Dairy Board (TDB), Dr George Msalya, named some of the illegally imported milk in question as Nura, KCC, Brookside, Aptamil, NIDO Forti Croissance, Cow & Gate, and sma PRO, among others.
“The government has allowed importation of milk products from outside the country for different reasonable purposes, but the milk to be imported must be of the needed quality and standards, and the traders must abide the set regulations and procedures,” he told the ‘Daily News’.
He added that the board would not tolerate seeing some unpatriotic traders turning the country into the ‘dustbin’ of substandard milk products from abroad.
“Importation and selling of substandard and unlicensed milk products have multiple health risks for the consumers, and apart from that, the move also weakens the country’s economy because the importers are running away from paying deserved taxes to the government,” he insisted.
Dr Msalya said according to regulations, traders who are found with unwanted milk products face a fine of between 2.5m/- and 5m/- as well as other legal actions.
“Apart from imposing them with the said fines, we’re also educating them on how they are supposed to abide by the set procedures and regulations for the importation of milk, which among others include seeking approval from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS),” he noted.
He named the countries from which the substandard milk products in question are often smuggled from as South Africa, Germany, Netherland, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, USA, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.
“I am appealing to traders and other investors to consult the TDB and other relevant authorities in case of importation of milk so that they can be on the safe side, but also ensure the safety of users,” he insisted.
