Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has directed schools, hospitals, tertiary institutions, and other institutions which consume a lot of food to deal with only companies which they have certified to supply food.
Mr David Livingstone Ebiru, the executive director of UNBS, made the statement yesterday.
He was speaking at a dialogue with school heads and proprietors at Hotel Africana in Kampala,
Mr Ebiru said most food suppliers do not meet the standards, especially in 2020 when the government contracted companies to supply items to the vulnerable during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“During Covid-19, there was an attempt by the government to buy good food for Ugandans but only two certified companies managed to pass the test. It looks like Ugandans are eating to die because we are eating dangerously,” he said.
Citing posho, he said many Ugandans could be getting cancers because of the continuous use of the milling machines. He said due to friction, the metals used for fabricating the machines wear into the posho and it is eaten subconsciously in the maize flour.
He added that the post-harvest handling of food across the value chain is another factor exposing Ugandans to dangerous substances such as aflatoxins.
Asked why they are targeting schools and institutions, he said these are areas with a high concentration of consumers who eat the food daily.
Mr Ebiru said schools are the best place to start promoting the consumption of quality food and storage of food in a responsible manner to avoid toxins and also ensure that the people who handle the food have health certificates.
Mr Collins Apwoyo, the country manager of DAI, a supplier of the USAID in Uganda, told the school proprietors that they partnered with UNBS in the project to improve quality of food.
He said under the Feed the Future Inclusive Agricultural Market Activity, funded by USAID, DAI sent out teams in the field to find out the quality of grains in the market three years ago.
The teams noted that Ugandan grains cannot gain value due to poor post-harvest handling and it coincided with the Kenyan government ban on Ugandan grains due to aflatoxins.
“We sat down with the food processors who said when they get bad grains from farmers they have to mill it and when they mill it they sell it. When they asked them why they sell the bad food they said the market does not care what they eat,” he said.
Mr Filbert Baguma, the Secretary General Uganda National Teachers Union, yesterday said the association is not mandated to supervise their members on the quality of food they serve students.
He, however, said the union will urge members to ensure safety of the food that schools feed learners.
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