Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)

Safe food is a primary determinant of human health. It is a basic human right to have access to safe and healthy food. In seeking to guarantee this right, governments must ensure that available food meets safety standards.

Food control system involves development and application of different food control measures to ensure availability of safe and nutritious food. Food standard is one of the major component in food control system.

Standard is defined as a document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context. Standards provide a reliable basis on which common expectations can be shared regarding specific characteristics of a product, service or process.

The role of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) amongst other responsibilities is to ensure food safety in the country. In so doing, TBS has the mandate to formulate, promulgate and implement national standards in different sectors including Food and Agriculture sector. Since its inception in 1975, TBS has developed hundreds of such standards and provided guidance for improving food safety and nutrition.

Food standards ensure food safety and quality by addressing all food-related issues such as quality and hygienic requirements, contaminants including toxins, heavy metals, residues of veterinary drugs and pesticides, hygienic practices such as Good Manufacturing Practices(GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), additives, nutrition, food packaging and labelling and methods of sampling and analysis. Management Standards such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Food Safety Management (FSM) System provide a solid foundation for Food Business operators to ensure safety of the food produced across the entire value chain. Furthermore, standards provides guidance on inspection and certification requirements of food products.

To achieve food safety objectives, food standards are based on risk analysis using the best, most up-to-date and robust scientific advice. The Tanzania food standards are prepared using a risk based approach, relying on existing international standards such as Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) and ISO Standards, adopting risk assessment conducted and use of available published studies.The principles enshrined in the standardization process work to ensure that food standards contribute in protecting public health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

Also food stakeholders should be aware of d the hazards associated with the food they produce, transport, store or sell, and the measures required to control those hazards, so that food reaching consumers is safe and suitable for use.

The TBS regularly inspects and analyses food products for compliance with the set food standards.

While recognizing that food safety is a shared responsibility the World Food Safety Day is an opportunity to strengthen our efforts to ensure that the food, we eat is safe from production level to the table.