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UNBS Starts Easter Sensitization Activities

  7th April , 2016 ,       Hits: 3025

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is mandated to ensure fairness in trade and enforce standards in protection of public health, safety and environment through market surveillance and sensitization.

In order to achieve this, (UNBS) has today 21st March 2016 commenced the Easter Holiday sensitization activity dubbed “Road Show Drive”, aimed at creating awareness among the consumers on how to buy quality products during the season.

About the Road Show Drives

The Road Show Drives are periodic activitiesthat take place during festive seasons that are characterized by busy shopping. The unscrupulous traders also take advantage of the busy seasons to sell substandard products to the public.

The activity involves driving through the central business centers of the country using a public address system to pass on consumer tips. It targets consumers in market places, kiosks, supermarkets, and pedestrians.

This year’s Easter Holiday activity will focus on mainly standards of food items, and cosmetics. This is because they are products that pose a high risk to human health and safety.

The four day activity will cover Nakawa, Ntinda, Kalerwe, Kisasi, Nansana, Namugoona and Mengo central business centers.

Common characteristic of substandard products

Majority of substandard products are produced in unhygienic conditions and are labeled poorly to mislead the public;

For instance, deceptive labeling is where a product has misleading labels or information like, indicating that a particular drink is a fresh juice by using a picture of a fresh fruit on the label while the content in the product is not necessarily a fresh drink.

The use a foreign language is where a product is labeled in a language that is not indigenous and cannot be understood by a majority of consumers in Uganda. If such languages are used, there should be interpretations in English.

Imitation drinks, which refers tothe labeling of a product with intention to simulate or copy something else, such as fruit drinks with labels that are similar to the original fresh fruits drinks product label.

Good labeling practice

 For example a quality cosmetic product should have the following; Name of the cosmetic product, Type of the cosmetic product, The intended use of the cosmetic product, Instructions for use of the cosmetic product, where applicable, Net content given by weight or volume, in the metric system, Name and address of the manufacturer, importer and/or distributor, Country of origin, The batch number in code or otherwise, Precautions and warnings, where applicable, Storage condition where applicable, Date of manufacture, Expiry/best before date.

By Richard Luyombya

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