By William Madouk
South Sudan National Bureau of Standard has launched an investigation into three trucks carrying assorted food items at Nimule border.
This came after the standards regulatory authority suspected the consignments in 40 ft containers – approximately 60 tons from the United Arab Emirates might have forged a Certificate of Conformity.
Chairperson of SSNBS, Dr. Kuorwel Kuai Kuorwel said the consignments are impounded and would undergo testing to ensure that they are fit for human consumption before being allowed to reach Juba.
“In these vehicles, you have sugar, Sardines, Tomatoes, and so many food items and we don’t guarantee the safety of these things,” said Kuorwel.
“The document given to us alleges that this is okay, so with that it’s important that we always verify and we don’t allow these consignments to enter into the country,” he added.
He added that all the food items in the consignment would be tested before being allowed.
“Vehicles of this nature from now on, we will not allow them – we will make sure that they are not allowed to enter the Republic of South Sudan,” he stressed.
“We do not allow them and this is a criminal intent – you are actually trying to dodge the system and come up with something not correct and we will take punitive measures against all these things,” Kuorwel warned.
Dr. Kuorwel highlighted that the Bureau of Standards is carrying out its mandate and would not allow any suspected goods to be sneaked into the country.
“We have no problem as long as you are doing the right thing, we will clear your goods but we don’t want to just go to the world market and buy from different shops as if you are buying from formal markets and give us things that we doubt,” he explained.
“We have deployed the technology and all that is here will be tested and the Bureau of Standards will test them and you will have to bear the cost as the owner for paying the truck and vehicles’ stay,” he noted.
In April last year, South Sudan impounded 92 trucks from Uganda carrying maize, maize flour, beans, and millet that are deemed to be unfit for human consumption.
The results from 27 samples that were collected showed that the consignments were contaminated with Aflatoxin.
According to scientists consuming foods with high Aflatoxin could pose consumers to risk of cancer disease.