TANZANIA – The government through Tanzania Initiatives for Preventing Aflatoxin Contamination (TANIPAC) project is implementing the construction of modern silos, warehouses, and laboratories as the country makes significant strides in the fight against aflatoxin in food crops. Aflatoxins are poisons produced by certain fungi that are found on crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts. It is…
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Uganda embarks on fight against Aflatoxins as part of World Food Safety Day
UGANDA – The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), have embarked on a campaign to fight against the high Aflatoxin levels in food stuffs, to promote consumption of safe food in the country. The campaign is in collaboration with the Grain Council Uganda (TGCU), Uganda National…
READ MOREResearchers link aflatoxins to rising cancer cases in Kenya
KENYA – Researchers in Kenya have established that aflatoxins, found in common cereals like maize and wheat, are becoming a major burden on Kenya’s health care system due to their link to cancer. Aflatoxins are a naturally occurring carcinogenic byproduct of common fungi on grains and other crops, particularly maize and groundnuts. The best-known one is Aspergillus flavus, that attacks…
READ MORENigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture reaffirms commitment to tackle Aflatoxin menace
NIGERIA – The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has reiterated its commitment to combat aflatoxin menace in Nigeria’s food system, at the Inception Workshop on Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations Technical Support to Aflatoxin Management and Mitigation in Nigeria held in Abuja. The Permanent Secretary (PS) Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development…
READ MOREGhana’s draft Aflatoxin Policy awaits Cabinet approval
GHANA – Ghana’s effort to espouse a coordinated approach for aflatoxin control in food and feed has been given a boost with the development of a draft policy by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (CSIR-STEPRI) for approval of the Cabinet. The policy is intended to harness the collective skills and strengths…
READ MOREIAEA/FAO joint efforts help Sri Lanka Food Safety & Quality Assurance Lab maintain food safety
SRI LANKA – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an autonomous international organization that seeks to promote peaceful use of nuclear energy, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), have been assisting the Food Safety and Quality Assurance Laboratory (FSQAL) in Sri lanka to develop its testing capability hence protecting consumers from contaminated products…
READ MOREUgandan maize millers request UNBS to extend certification deadline
UGANDA – Maize millers and traders in Uganda have pleaded with Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to extend the deadline for certification saying they are ill-prepared as the June 30th deadline issued did not consider the various problems they are going through, some of them caused by the government and others by nature. The millers and traders have been…
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