As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark World Food Safety Day, Agnes Kirabo, Executive Director of Food Rights Alliance, is calling on the government to take immediate action to address the country’s food safety challenges.
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This call to action comes after a food safety awareness walk in Kampala, where stakeholders highlighted the importance of safe food for public health.
According to Kirabo, the current state of food safety in Uganda is alarming. “One in every 10 people daily suffers a food-borne illness,” she revealed, citing government statistics. This translates to the government spending over $1 million annually on treating food-borne related illnesses. Kirabo attributed the prevalence of food safety issues to consumer behavior, stating, “Consumers of food in Uganda consume quantity and consume price and consume taste and consume all other things except safety.”
Kirabo highlighted the severe impact of food safety on public health, particularly in relation to aflatoxins and chemical residues in food.
“Aflatoxins are not only limited to liver cancer. It is also associated with immune-suppressed cancers that are induced by immune suppression,” she warned. Furthermore, she noted that aflatoxins can affect sperm count, and exposure to chemical residues in food can lead to steady poisoning.
To address these challenges, Kirabo emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach. “Our systems are very weak. Our institutions do not have the money they require to run and do the enforcements. They don’t have the technologies that they require. They don’t have the human resources that they require,” she explained. Therefore, Kirabo called on the government to:
– Support researchers like NARO with funding to develop science-based solutions to food safety issues, such as providing $3 million to establish a low-cost factory to commercialize Aflasafe.
– Expedite the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority (FARA).
– Support food enforcements in local governments.
– Equip extension workers to guarantee food safety.
Dr. Moses Matovu, a research expert from NARO emphasized the role of science in addressing food safety challenges.
“Science in action means that the work scientists have done or deliberated to do has turned out to be a very good product that can cause innovations in agriculture,” he said. According to Matovu, food safety challenges start right from the gardens, and issues like pest sites and mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, are major concerns.Stake
Matovu noted that research has developed products to address these challenges, but handling and storage practices are critical to preventing contamination. “If we don’t handle maize well, it will not become food. It will become a toxin because it will facilitate moulds that are called mycotoxins to grow,” he warned. He emphasized the importance of meeting international standards and testing food for quality to ensure safety.
Matovu highlighted NARO’s efforts to develop innovative solutions to prevent mycotoxins, including the use of microorganisms with pesticide potential. “We are going to use environmental solutions to solve environmental problems, so that we avail you safe food, safe maize,” he said. He also mentioned the development of products like Aflacive to help prevent mycotoxins.
Kirabo also stressed the importance of empowering consumers to demand safe food. “When you go for those visitation days, demand to see where is the food being kept? How is the food being kept? Is it meeting the standards?” she advised parents. By working together, Kirabo believes that Uganda can improve its food safety standards and protect the health of its citizens. “Dear Ugandans and the people in Uganda, if what you ate is not safe, you ate poison,” she warned.
