As we celebrate the world Food safety Day 2025, its very important to reflect on the Food safety, security and systems of Uganda.
Whereas Food safety is a concern, food security is a biggest concern. Those who have food and those who don’t have live in bog margins. Food safety chain starts up from the food value chain right from planting to the consumer. The series of food safety move from the famers during the planting, to garden practises, harvesting, storage and drying, transportation and preparation for consumers.
The food value chain plays a critical in in ensuring the food quality and quantity, when food is safe, healthy and it plays its vital role in disease prevention, in Uganda Nutrition and safe food prevents 75% of the diseases burden that we have here. This is therefore important to ensure that individuals, households and communities ensure that they access safe and nutritious food at all times.
Some regions in Uganda are leading in under nutrition that’s wasting, underweight, stunting and others lead in over nutrition like over weight and obese. The prevalence of these different nutrition indicators places Uganda at a need where nutrition needs a big priority.
Rural areas in regions like Northern, Eastern and Bunyoro sub regions lead in under nutrition and whereas central regions of Uganda like kampala, wakiso and mukono top in increasing overweight and obesity.
Food safety places consumers at the centre of concern ensuring people have safe access nutritious meals and meet their dietary requirements.
Most people in Uganda have learnt how best to cook food with different food preparation methods that make it healthy and tasty for consumption. However, food sellers in small eating places in Uganda places consumers at a risk of disease contraction.
Food fraud in Uganda is the most pressing issue when it comes to food safety in Uganda, when you check the people who sell the juices like Munanasi, putting it in water bottle companies, you may wonder is this juice safe ? the bottles are collected all over and then juice is just added and sole on streets ? also check the fruit sellers, they open them and put them in disposable containers, move them on sun, expose them to heat, but the handlers, how do they look like, where do they cut them from, no water to wash them and their hands too. There is an issue of health claims tat have risen increasing risk to health conditions like detox diets, claiming it detoxifies the whole body, low fat, high in fibre or no sugar added, yet some of these don’t have any of them or they have extra od them that’s not healthy, posing risk to consumers.
The chapati makers, their utensils, their dressing code, the towels they clean and hold the frying pan (flampen), the working table is always not clean, with lots of dirt, the cup where eggs are whisked, they need to be cleaned all the time. Ensuring simple practises like handwashing, utensils handling and management, could improve the food safety practises. All these practises increase food poisoning levels but also long-term effects of unsafe food.
The aflatoxins have risen over time in Uganda where farmers are harvesting produce before they mature, are mishandling food, storing it badly like on floor, produce before they completely dry, drying it on iron sheets, on roads and making it develop mould and other fungi to grow on them and making it toxic and risking people who consume foods like cassava flour, corn to get the liver cancer.
The consumers are advised on being concerned on mushrooming food adverts that expose them to eat less nutrients but encourage high calories, like the un necessary adverts on high end streets of Kampala, they entice consumers about their tastiness, appeal and make consumers eat what they aren’t supposed to consume, isn’t it the reason the obesity rates are increasing? More important is that some of these foods aren’t safe even for consumption.
Consumers are urged to take caution, read food labels too, this helps them to understand the nutrient profile, the expiry and manufacturing dates and know what they are consuming is very critical, don’t buy and go, pick, read and understand, then buy. This creates more esteem and promotes self-awareness of the food consumed at all the levels of food production or sold.
To every Ugandan is encouraged on being mindful on what they consume, eat responsibly and ensure a healthy eating plate all the time ensuring ½ of the plate has vegetables or fruits, ¼ carbohydrates, ¼ of the proteins. Don’t eat when you are satisfied, don’t force yourself to eat because of availability rather take your mouth so serious when choosing food to eat, we can fight the rise of non-communicable diseases as informed, empowered consumers.
Kamara Daniel – Nutritionist, Bwindi Community Hospital
