The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has issued a statement responding to allegations attributed to Gilbert Olanya, the Member of Parliament for Kilak South Constituency that Pearl Salt being sold on the Ugandan market is of poor quality.
The salt brand in question bears the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) Standardisation Mark as evidence that it has been certified for compliance with standards.
“The salt was cleared for importation into Uganda based on valid certification permits from KEBS as part of mutual recognition of certification permits issued by Standards bodies in the EAC Partner States. This measure was designed to facilitate trade among EAC countries,” UNBS said in a statement dated April16, 2019.
It added: “However, as a quality assurance measure, UNBS routinely picked samples for further laboratory analysis and the tested samples passed.”
Nevertheless, UNBS says it does not take the allegations lightly.
“We have picked samples from the market to carry out further laboratory analysis to ascertain whether the salt meets the requirements of the standard for fortified food salt (US EAS 35:2012),” the standards agency said, adding: “UNBS will continue to perform its mandate of enforcing standards to protect the health and safety of consumers and the environment against dangerous and sub-standard products.”
