UNBS Opens Regional Food Safety Laboratory In Gulu

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news July 14, 2022

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has launched a food safety testing laboratory for Gulu in Northern Uganda. VODP through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) donated the lab equipment. However, the Danish government supported all of this financially.

UNBS said this laboratory equipment is worth $ 988,470 while Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) through the Danish Government has by far given laboratory equipment worth $ 4,455,283 to the bureau.

David Bahati, the minister of State for Industry, embraced the bureau’s initiative of decentralizing its services to the regional offices. This is because the government’s industrialization agenda will be properly supported.

He also observed that government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) will need UNBS services. Such include providing quality assurance to enable such products access both the domestic and export markets.

The UNBS Executive Director, David Livingstone Ebiru said the bureau plans on opening similar testing labs for eastern region. They will base this in Mbale and for Western Region based in Mbarara in the near future.

He said if these labs are moved nearer to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) based in the countryside, the cost of doing business will exponentially reduce. This is because enterprises that used to seek testing services from UNBS central laboratories in Kampala can now get them at regional offices.

The regional food safety laboratories will provide conformity assessment services to enterprises and industries involved in processing and value addition. This will ensure that their products meet the minimum quality standards before they put them on the market.

The laboratories will test both food and non-food products. These include edible fats and oils, milk and milk products, water, fruits and vegetables, cereals and cereal products, grains and animal products, among others.

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