'1.3 million Ugandans consume unsafe food every year'

The civil society organizations have revealed that 1.3 million Ugandans consume unsafe food every year and 10% of the population fall sick after eating contaminated food.

This was revealed during the celebrations to mark World Food Safety Day yesterday under the theme "Food Safety is Everyone business."

The organisations noted that 420,000 people including 125,000 children under the age of five die due to consumption of unsafe food.

Agnes Kirabo, the executive director Food Rights Alliance, said that many consumers have neglected their rights to access to safe food hence increasing the production of poor quality food in the country.

"If you buy poor quality food and bring it into your house and you are going to feed the members of your family, note from us that you are committing a crime and you are against the people's rights if you give them unsafe food,"said Kirabo.

She urged food producers to ensure safety of food saying that it has a great impact to Uganda's trade with other countries.

"It is only in Uganda where you find that there are many unserious consumers who continue to consume unsafe food,"she said.

She also advised Ugandans to sue those who keep on producing food which is unsafe for human consumption.

Kirabo expressed fear that amid the Covid-19 pandemic many people are consuming unsafe food because they don't have access to quality food which will have a great effect in their lives after the pandemic.

"We are going to survive Covid-19 but you are going to die silently and struggle individually because of the unsafe food you have been consuming during the period of the pandemic,"she said.