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Uganda National Bureau of Standards’ Unified Approach to Food Safety and Certification

World Business Journal talks to Patricia Bageine Ejalu, Deputy Executive Director, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), about standards harmonisation in the EAC region and globally, the deployment of mobile labs for enhanced coverage and quality verification, and a personnel certification pilot program to improve the country’s testing capacity

How does UNBS ensure harmonisation among Ugandan, East African, and global standards?

The East African Standards Committee, comprising bureaus across the EAC, harmonises trade standards. Uganda Standards are adopted East African Standards, ensuring regional uniformity. Mutual recognition of certification marks within the EAC streamlines market access. EAC’s leadership in harmonisation extends to ARSO, with East African standards often serving as blueprints. International standards are adopted for non-local products to ensure conformity. Membership in the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) ensures adherence to international food safety standards, while membership in global standards bodies like ISO and IEC, coupled with partnerships with national bodies such as ASTM and BSI, provides access to worldwide standards for local adaptation.

What specific efforts are being made to broaden the organisation’s reach?

Operating with headquarters in Kampala and regional offices in Gulu (north), Mbale (east), and Mbarara (west) enhances our nationwide coverage. While our current regional labs are rented, we aim to construct our own for cost reduction and focused expansion in the next five years, especially in strategic areas like the oil and gas region in Hoima and West Nile. Mobile labs will be employed to provide temporary testing solutions in various regions. We promote private sector involvement and specialisation to alleviate the government’s burden, enhancing sector-specific testing through collaboration with private labs. Starting this year, immediate plans involve equipping entry points like one-stop border centres to address food safety and verify produce quality efficiently.

.How has the certification application process evolved in the digital age?

Our standards, certification, testing, and calibration departments all have online systems. Certification can be obtained online without a physical visit. However, the challenge lies in the overwhelming demand compared to our limited resources. Government support is crucial to addressing this gap and enhancing our turnaround time. We have recognised 22 laboratories (20 private and two government) to improve the country’s testing capacity, which can feed into the certification process. We are working on a personnel certification pilot program with The Grain Council of Uganda (TGCU), which is targeted to be completed by the third quarter of the financial year 2023/2024. This scheme will allow private sector individuals or companies to conduct initial assessments, reducing the burden on our limited teams. We aim to focus more on surveillance audits, improving our ICT infrastructure, and reducing certification processing time from four months to two.

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