The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has warned consumers in Lango about the unsafe food products, particularly repackaged cooking oil and grain products.
The warning was issued during a two-day training for millers and processors. The training was aimed at improving compliance with national quality standards. Richard Ebong, from the UNBS Standards Development Department, said there a national concerns over aflatoxin contamination in maize.
Lira, he said, was prioritised because much of the rejected maize had originated from the broader region. Ebong said UNBS deployed teams countrywide to inspect mills, close non-compliant facilities, and train processors on proper grain handling, hygiene, and certification requirements.
“That is the reason why we came to have a training on the certification process for the maize grain and the maize mill, which is produced here,” he said.
He explained that certification for food processors is mandatory and location-specific, noting that milling machines themselves can become contamination sources. “Food must be safe—whether it is being eaten by a villager, a trader, or the president,” he said.
Ebong encouraged producers to form associations to support self-regulation and improve record-keeping, especially tracking raw material sources, reaffirming UNBS’s commitment to helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) meet quality standards, access export markets, and align with Uganda’s National Development Plan IV.
During the training, a grain miller raised concerns over food items sold in open markets, including cooking oil displayed in used plastic bottles along roadsides, wondering whether or not such products remain safe for consumption.
In his response, Ebong said such exposure may cause chemical reactions that compromise safety and taste. He noted that poor handling practices persist despite existing regulatory frameworks, and called on Health inspectors and local governments to take a more active role in ensuring proper market conditions and enforcing hygiene standards.
He also pointed to longstanding challenges in Uganda’s markets, including the use of household cups and tins to sell grains—an informal method that often leads to disputes when buyers later weigh their purchases on scales.
On the other hand, Klaus Turayebingoha, UNBS Certification Officer, encouraged grain millers to ensure proper hygiene standards and to shift to calibrated digital weighing scales, arguing that volume-based measurements are unreliable due to differences in product density.
“Most of the fabricators of our mills look at the beauty of the mills, not worrying about the safety of the customers buying, so you will find that they have painted inside where you pour the maize. So you will realise that after some time you are not seeing some of the paints… so where that paint went?” he asked. “People have already enjoyed the paint, and that is where some of the cancers are coming from!”
Adding “So the paint on those food contact surfaces should be removed and scraped out. If it can be on the outside, well and good, but the inside should be left steel.”
Meanwhile, Morris Chris Ongom, Director of the Lira and Lango Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the training and urged local governments to take responsibility for ensuring that traders operate in proper, designated markets. He said many vendors sell food in unsafe roadside environments—not out of negligence but due to a lack of viable alternatives.
Ongom warned that poor handling of food products, such as cooking oil, exposes consumers to long-term health risks. He encouraged business owners to take advantage of training opportunities offered by government agencies, including upcoming sessions with the Bank of Uganda and others.
“Food generates health or death,” Ongom said, calling for stricter adherence to recommended storage and handling conditions- urging both sellers and buyers to adapt their practices to meet safety requirements.
UNBS emphasised that community members, district commercial officers, production officers, and health inspectors all play key roles in sustaining safe trade practices after the agency’s training teams depart.
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