WHERE DOES THE FOOD SOLD IN SUPERMARKETS IN UGANDA COME FROM? DO WE KNOW? Traceability is a risk management tool that is useful in tracing the origin of foods, especially when food items are found dangerous to humans. Being able to trace where the food came from - from producer to retailer - helps to speed up recall of harmful food and to stem the flow of harmful food into our food system. Admittedly, in Uganda, traceability and detection does not feature much in the day-to-day lives of the majority, since the majority - an estimated 80 percent of Ugandans - live in rural areas and the bulk of the food that they consume is sourced close to home – they grow what they eat and or they purchase what they eat from farmers markets close by. Traceability becomes a major issue for Ugandans at the level of international trade - export and import of food, including food aid. Arguably, in some cases traceability rules seemingly are used as a barrier to block our products from entering other international markets, for example the USA does not allow fresh bananas from Uganda to enter its market? Unfortunately, when it comes to products coming into our market the standards are not rigid enough and what little standards exist are not enforced enough. So, particularly for Ugandas urban dwellers, there have been cases of unscrupulous businesses, mostly international retailers, who have taken advantage of Ugandans selling to them expired and rotten food items that were likely imported into Uganda. The Tuskys rotten meat incident comes to mind - also an example of food fraud
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 09:00:43 +0000
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