KAMPALA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has destroyed 232 metric tonnes of substandard goods worth UGX 2.5 billion.
The UNBS says, this is in line with its mandate of enforcing standards in protection of public health and safety, and the environment against dangerous and sub-standard products.
A substandard product is one that does not meet the general and technical specifications required by the standards and as such, is considered to be inferior or of poor quality.
The substandard goods destroyed include foodstuffs, iron sheets, cosmetics, cement, mattresses, toilet
paper, polythene bags, electronics and alcohol, among others.
The destroyed products were seized during countrywide operations carried out by the UNBS Market Surveillance and Imports Inspection departments in the course of the financial year 2019/2020.
In a bid to intensify the fight against substandard products, UNBS reviewed its regulations, among them; The Imports Inspection and Clearance Regulation 2018, which requires that goods covered by compulsory standards must be inspected in their country of origin before they are allowed on the market under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards Program(PVoC).
The UNBS Distinctive Mark Regulation 2018, which requires all locally manufactures goods covered by compulsory standards must be certified and issued with UNBS Distinctive Mark before they are allowed on the market.
