UNBS seizes 700 bags of underweight sugar, bread

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has confiscated 700 bags of underweight sugar from a wholesale dealership in Bukedea.

The standards watchdog took action following public complaints about underweight products on the market.

The public was last week treated shock revelations about underweight sugar in Kakira-branded bags and of loaves of bread that were found way too light for their own good.

UNBS principal public relations manager Sylvia Kirabo said the underweight sugar was being sold by VG Keshwala and Sons Limited, in Pallisa, while the bread were from Supa Loaf’s outlets in Mbarara city and Wakiso District, as well as from Jonisa bread sold in various supermarkets.

"During their inspections, UNBS officials discovered that the packaging material of the sugar had been tampered with," Ms Kirabo said in a statement.

"The inner polyethylene layer was found to have holes, indicating deliberate attempts to mislead consumers about the actual weight of the product."

The statement corroborates an earlier one by Kakira Sugar Ltd, whose directors said the four-minute video that went viral did not depict the truth about its sugar.

The video showed 50-kg bags of sugar belonging to the sugar moguls weighed between 47kg and 48kg.

But Peter Van Greunen, general manager of Kakira Sugar, said while the bags were indeed from their own factory, they had been tampered with.

The bags that had serial numbers and digital tax stamp from Kakira, had defective inner polythene linings.

Mr Greunen said their weighing scales were calibrated in May 2024 to ensure accuracy while joint managing director Mr Kamlesh Madhvani said the incident was "regrettable".

"We have no reputation of cheating our customers; when we see something like this, it is disturbing," he said.

UNBS said management and owners of the implicated businesses have presented themselves to the standards watchdog for further questioning.

"Legal action, including prosecution for the possession and distribution of underweight pre-packaged goods, is expected to follow," Ms Kirabo said.

Packing, selling, being in possession of or holding for sale underweight pre-packaged goods, is an offence punishable by law, as it contravenes the UNBS Act and related laws such as the Weights and

Measures Act.

The UNBS urged manufacturers, importers, and traders of pre-packaged goods to strictly adhere to the cited laws and standards to ensure compliance with the regulations.