One million Ugandans suffer from foodborne illnesses annually- report

A report by Ministry of Health has revealed that the country registers about 1.3 million cases of food borne illnesses annually, which accounts for 14 percent of all cases treated.
The report reveals that aflatoxin contamination is a rapidly growing burden in Uganda’s food system, with up to 65 percent of maize containing aflatoxin levels above the Ugandan maximum limit of 10ppb.
Aflatoxin contamination reduces economic growth by 0.26%
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Uganda suffers a loss of $77 million on treatment of 3700 cases of aflatoxin-induced cancer cases.
Mr Huzaima Sekalema, the program officer at SEATINI says Aflatoxins cause a decline in export value estimated at $7.48 million, which accounts for a 45 percent reduction in total agricultural export.

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“Food safety concerns are rapidly increasing in Uganda owing to the high use of contaminated water in cleaning of fruits and vegetables,” he said.
He noted that as such, chemicals are visible on most vegetables such as tomatoes sold in the urban centers, Kampala inclusive.
A study conducted by Rikolto in Kampala and Mbale cities indicated that 82 percent of all the sampled vegetables and fruits contained carbonates.
The study reveals that transporters and traders apply chemicals during transportation and storage within the market places.
In addition, food fraud remains a growing phenomenon with adulterated foods and beverages flooding the market; advertised without regulation, and sold to unsuspecting consumers.
Further more, the application of unregulated chemicals and other substances such as formalin has increased among milk and meat traders.
The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, said they are establishing regional food safety laboratories in Northern Uganda (Gulu City), Eastern region (Mbale City) and Western (Mbarara City).
Others are demonstrating commitment to Food Safety standards development and harmonization at the regional and global levels.
In addition, government under MAAIF has allocated resources towards campaigns, projects and initiatives that advocate for adoption of modern agricultural practices that aim at increasing production and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and utilizing community-based nutrition services in smallholder households.