Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)

Collaboration between Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS) has significantly reduced movement of low-quality product between Tanzania Mainland and the isles.

TBS director general Dr Athuman Ngenya said this at the weekend when speaking at the Zanzibar International Trade Fair (ZITF) as part of the festivities to mark 60th anniversary of the Zanzibar Revolution.

Dr Ngenya said that the bureau participated at the exhibition to sensitize the public on TBS achievements for the past 60 years, saying one of the major accomplishments being to collaborate with ZBS.

“It was important to have this cooperation because the trade between Zanzibar and Tanzania Mainland is very big and involves various products that are regulated by the two organs,” he said.

He said that the cooperation has made it possible to remove from the market products that do not meet standards between the two sides of the union.

Dr Ngenya added that quality of products traded between the two sided has improved considerably.

Issa Njoka, nutrition expert and leader of the association of small industries in Tanzania (WAJATA), applauded TBS for serving Tanzanians and strengthening industries to ensure quality of products to protect consumers.

Njoka, who visited TBS pavilion, said that as a producer of agricultural products, he received very detailed instructions from the organisation’s officers who were providing education to the public.

“Every Tanzanian and producers in particular should come to TBS to be informed on how they can get quality products,” he said.

“It is important for Tanzanians to be patriotic when we want to buy products; we must check if it has the TBS quality mark to avoid buying products that are harmful to our health.”

He said that there are aflatoxins and other toxins on some foods, urging that every Tanzanian has the responsibility to take carer of their health.
“I call upon every Tanzanian to notify TBS when in doubt of any product so that all of us are safe,” he said