The government and its partners have embarked on a campaign to fight against the high aflatoxin levels in food stuffs, to promote consumption of safe food in the country.
The efforts, supported by Oxfam, come at a time as Uganda joined the world to celebrate World Food Safety Day 2022, under the theme: “Safer food, better health”.
Aflatoxins are poisonous substances produced by moulds when they infest produce that is not well-dried.
High levels of Aflatoxins contaminate food crops like Cereals, legumes, oil crops and others, posing a serious health threat to humans and livestock.
According to research, consuming foods with high aflatoxins levels increases the risk of contracting liver cancer and other related diseases, which could lead to death.
Despite efforts to fight the poor agricultural practices, which lead to increased aflatoxins in grains, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards has clearly noted that aflatoxin continues to surface in value-added grains on the market.
Speaking shortly after the celebrations, Patricia Bageine Ejalu, the deputy Executive Director UNBS, said besides health, high aflatoxin levels are a major barrier to the exportation of Uganda’s agricultural produce to the East African Region and internationally.
“Internationally, Aflatoxins pose a significant economic burden, which according to World Health Organisation (WHO) 2018 report, causes an estimated 25% or more of the world’s food crop loss, consequently contributing to hunger, “she said
She explained that the campaign against high levels of aflatoxins is aimed at creating awareness about this poison and training all stakeholders in the value chains, right from the farm to the final consumer, on how to handle food to avoid Aflatoxin contamination.
“This therefore calls for joint effort from every stakeholder: farmers, transporters, traders, manufacturers, Civil Society Organizations, the private sector, regulators and the consumers to join the fight against high aflatoxin levels in food, “she said.
Ejalu said farmers should adopt good agricultural practices that ensure the right moisture content in food to eliminate high Aflatoxin levels;
Some of these practices include, ensuring that food crops are harvested when dry, avoid storing food before thoroughly drying it, dry the food crops properly on tarpaulins, canvas, mats or in cribs among other practices.
