Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The Zambia Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance is worried that the partial operationalization of the Food Safety Act by the Ministry of Health has given rise to the marketing and selling of unhealthy foods by food producers and importers thereby threatening the health of consumers.
Alliance national coordinator Mathews Mhuru notes that despite Parliament enacting The Food Safety Act of 2019, the provisions of the Act have not been fully enforced and are not even being followed by the ministry which has instead concentrated on using archaic laws to regulate food safety in the country to the detriment of people’s health.
In a statement availed to QTV News, Mr Mhuru says the alliance is further concerned that government agencies such as the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority are giving marketing authorization to food producers to market drinks and other foods as medicines and cures for certain illnesses, practices which are prohibited by the Food Safety Act.
He says with the rise in food prices being witnessed in the country over the recent months, the alliance is afraid that unhealthy foods will flood the market targeting especially low-income earners who in many occasions pay less attention to food labeling and expiry dates.
Mr. Mhuru has therefore called on the Ministry of Health to fully operationalize the food safety Act number 7 of 2019 and its provisions enforced fully to protect the public against health hazards and fraud in the manufacture, sale and use of food in Zambia from not only producers, but importers of food as well.