Northern Uganda gets UNBS state-of-the-art food safety laboratory

According to UNBS, the laboratory equipment is worth $ 988,470 (about 3.7B Shillings) and this was donated by VODP through a collective of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the Danish government funded TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

State Minister for Industry, David Bahati, applauded the bureau for taking the initiative to decentralise its operations citing that this move will aid government in its plans to industrialise the country.

Bahati noted that this move comes with great timing and will align with the Parish Development Model (PDM) which will look at enhancing production and value addition. The proximity of UNBS services of quality assurance to regional businesses will facilitate faster assessment and delivery for both domestic and export markets.

UNBS Gulu Regional offices Pulse

The Executive Director at UNBS, David Livingstone Ebiru, mentioned that similar testing laboratories are coming soon to Mbale, for the Eastern region and Mbarara, for the Western region.

Cost of operating business is expected to reduce for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the countryside, now that they don't have to seek standards services in Kampala.

The new laboratory will conform to the established testing assessment services for enterprises involved in both food and non-food products namely, edible fats and oils, milk and milk products, water, fruits and vegetables, cereals and cereal products, grains and animal products, among others.

Apart from the new laboratory equipment, the bureau has so far received equipment worth $4,455,283 (about 16B Shillings) from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) through the Danish government.