Experts urge for stronger food safety laws for consumer protection

Advocates for consumer protection and food safety are urging the government to strengthen food safety laws to safeguard consumers. 

They contend that doing so would successfully address risks to the health and safety of consumers. 

During a dialogue to mark World Food Day at the Tooro Botanical Gardens in Fort Portal, they called for collaborative efforts with relevant authorities to address the challenge. 

“Water is life, Water is food, Leave no one behind”, was the theme of the day. 

The event featured heart-breaking stories from various stakeholders about the widespread fraud that continues to jeopardize consumer health and food safety in the nation. 

The national World Food Day was observed in Kituza, Mukono district, at the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCRI), on October 16, the date of the yearly international celebrations, 

The day was established by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

The conversation mostly centred on methods of handling foods that are said to endanger the lives and health of customers. 

One of the most important points brought up was the purported use of paraffin in cooking food in numerous schools, purportedly to curb female students' hysterics and students' rogue libidos, the highly insanitary conditions where food is manufactured and prepared for cooking, and the alleged usage of formalin, a chemical used to preserve dead bodies in morgues, to extend the shelf life of milk, beef, and other food items. 

Speaker after speaker commented the need for access to safer food and water, demonstrating the importance of water in food value chains. 

Testimonies collected during a session to assess the level of understanding of the predicament of consumers in the marketplace appalled the participants. 

Early this year, New Vision reported on the numerous tainted food products, particularly vegetables like cabbages, which were flooding the market as a result of farmers' usage of chemicals. 

The experts claimed that inadequate handling of food products throughout the entire chain (growing, harvesting, storing, and cooking) continues to be a major cause of food infections among consumers, particularly in urban areas where people rely mostly on what is available on the market. 

There is a lot of "evil" done in the processing and storage of food, according to the speaker of the Fort Portal City Council, Albert Ahebwa, who spoke on behalf of the mayor Edison Asaba Ruyonga. 

“Let us have a collective responsibility. We have heard that the food we eat is preserved with rat poison, formalin or paraffin. It’s beyond the food we put in our bodies; it will lead to distortions in our bodies,” he noted. 

He highlighted that the city was already well along in the process of enacting a by-law on food safety that would aid in consumer protection as part of the effort to address this situation. 

“We as human beings have unplugged from what has groomed us and plugged into cyberspace. We have cut ourselves from the nature that nurtures us. This will have serious consequences on our lives,” Henry Richard Kimera, the team lead of Global Consumer Centre (CONSENT) noted. 

Regarding the theme of this year's World Food Day, he said that if the water is unhealthy, “any food we prepare with it would be unsafe.” 

Carlos Bernard Bwambale, the head of the Fort Portal Consumer Desk and a food and nutrition specialist, emphasized in his keynote speech that the majority of ailments are brought on by improper food handling and tainted water. 

“We have an opportunity to learn from the examples around us and improve. Most diseases are caused by poor handling of food and water,” he added. 

He continued, questioning why someone would risk losing their lives at a cost of sh500/= for kikomando (chapatti and beans) or spend sh500,000 for treatment. 

Bwambale urged Ugandans to refrain from scurrying after extremely inexpensive items since doing so will invariably result in huge hazards. 

A recent study showed that children have toxic blood associated with drug misuse and abuse with leading contaminants: being physical, biological, chemical and allergens. 

The secretary for health and education for Kabarole District, Resty Mboijana said the district is soon unveiling a health action plan to address issues with food safety, all of which aim to reduce the use of chemicals and abuse. 

She claimed that the majority of consumers were uninformed of their rights. 

“Your life is in your hands because the country doesn’t have adequate policy and legal protection for consumers. You need to protect yourselves using the existing standards and laws and a great deal of personal drive using existing information,” Shaban Ramathan Sserunkuma, director of programmes at CONSENT, who oversees policy advocacy and regulatory compliance noted. 

He emphasised the necessity to link consumers, producers, and regulators in order to create a chain of safety. 

Following a series of in-depth media stories by sections of media on the contaminated food products on the market, the experts say it was sufficient proof to demonstrate that consumers were at risk and that the appropriate government authorities needed to act swiftly to come up with an appropriate policy and regulation. 

“But even then, neither our Parliament nor the appropriate authorities speak. More products are still being dumped on the market and no serious action,” Asha Ntabadde, the communications and engagement manager for CONSENT noted. 

She emphasized that the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF) needed to take up the cause in collaboration with other stakeholders before it was too late.