Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)

Food stakeholders in the country have been urged to abide by standards set by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to protect the health of the people in the country.

TBS Director General, Dr. Athuman Ngenya, made the call recently when speaking with various stakeholders representing various ministries, regulatory institutions, food producers and processors during the celebration of World Food Safety Day, which is celebrated on July 7 every year.

Dr. Ngenya said food safety is vital to human health that has to be protected by any means necessary, since the effects of unsafe food are high including health and economic effects.

"Consumption of unsafe food has been associated with various diseases, as well as causing other health challenges such as poor growth especially in children, poor nutrition, also some infectious and non-infectious diseases," said Dr. Ngenya.

Speaking about the magnitude of the problem, Dr Ngenya said the effects of the diseases caused by unsafe food are greater in developing countries, while most victims are children under the age of five.

He added that according to WHO statistics, it is projected that every year, one person in ten people suffers problems related with unsafe food consumption while more than four thousand people among the victims, die.

DG Ngenya also stressed the importance of food standardisation to ensure that food products are manufactured within the requirements of the standards to enable them to penetrate in markets.

"These standards are specific to guide producers to produce good and safe food products to be able to penetrate in both regional and the global markets," he stressed.

Dr. Ngenya said initiatives for proper production systems including good manufacturing practice, better agriculture systems, and good hygienic practices must be implemented to ensure the safety of the food path.