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UNBS urges maize flour, bean producers and suppliers to embrace certification of their products

  22nd May , 2020 ,       Hits:

Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Executive Director, Dr. Ben Manyindo has called upon maize and bean suppliers in the country to embrace UNBS certification to ensure quality of their output.

According to Dr. Manyindo, lack of qualified and certified players in the supply chain creates a huge gap, which is a big challenge most especially now, when the country is battling the COVID19 pandemic.

“If we had qualified, certified suppliers, we wouldn’t be having challenges of delays. All OPM would do is to get a database of certified suppliers from UNBS and award them contracts to supply maize and flour. This gap in the supply chain has to be corrected moving forward.” Dr. Manyindo said.

The UNBS ED was responding to claims that the UNBS quality checks are delaying COVID19 relief food distribution.

The remarks were made during the Minister of Trade Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde’s visit to the OPM stores in Kinawataka on Saturday, who had gone to inspect UNBS works regarding COVID19 relief food quality.

Kyambadde acknowledged that the quality check process takes time, given that the samples got at Kinawataka have to also be transported to the UNBS laboratories in Nakawa for testing. She however recommended the fast tracking of COVID19 relief food distribution and other items that are supposed to be given out.

UNBS continues to work tirelessly, Monday to Monday, to ensure quality of COVID19 relief food. So far, the quality compliance of food delivered has improved as results indicate that 77% of maize flour and 79% of beans passed the quality test as at 2nd May 2020.