TANZANIA Bureau of Standards (TBS) has reached and provided education on how to combat aflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnuts to producers, distributors and processors in 12 districts in the country.
This was unveiled by the TBS Standards Officer and Coordinator of Tanzania Initiative for Preventing Aflatoxin Contamination (TANIPAC) programme Ally Kingazi in Dar es Salaam recently.
"We have equipped producers, distributors and processors with knowledge and skills to fight spread and challenges posed by aflatoxin in the country," he said.
He said at the end of the programme, 18 districts will be reached in ten regions namely Dodoma, Morogoro, Mtwara, Ruvuma, Tabora, Mwanza, Simiyu, Geita and Kigoma.
According to some studies the districts for which the programme was conducted have a critical problem of aflatoxin.
He said lack of right education has been one of the challenges that lead to the spread of aflatoxin particularly during the preparation of the farm, harvesting, processing, transportation and preservation of the crops.
He said the government through TBS has taken various measures to prevent the spread of aflatoxin by providing education and training to various stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.
Mr Kingazi said TBS has also prepared various guidelines on how to combat the spread of aflatoxin as one of the fundamental measures in maintaining food safety and protect the health of the people.
He added that food processors and distributors have crucial role to play in ensuring that contaminated food caused by aflatoxin do not enter into the markets.
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He said food contaminated by aflatoxin may cause serious health risks that may incur the nation high costs of treating its people.
He said aflatoxin affect mostly maize and groundnuts which make major part of the staple food in the country.
He said one of the objectives of TANIPAC progamme is provide education on how to fight aflatoxin as well as empower to control the problem in the community.
He said food safety is fundamental in protecting health of the people and in penetrating domestic and International markets thus contributing to economic development.
He said food safety should be given priority in all aspects. Unhealthy food may cause serious health problems to consumers and economic effects.
He said food safety is currently facing various challenges including contamination caused by aflatoxin that leads to serious health problems and effects on the economy.
Food processors and distributors should use the knowledge gained on aflatoxin in order to enhance food safety in the society as well as avoid incurring losses in case they sell contaminated food products in the market.
