TANZANIA –Tanzania Food and Drug Authority has partnered four other agencies to train food traders and handlers on food hygiene and quality with an aim to improve safety and consumer health.
According to the Daily News, the partnership involves government agencies; TFDA, BRELA, Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade), Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) and Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) through signing a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU.
Mr Justin Makisi TFDA’s Deputy Director of Food Security and Medicine said that the training is part of a nationwide initiative and targets small-scale food entrepreneurs who control 74% of the food market.
“The entrepreneurs need education on food health related matters to improve products quality and quantity while safeguarding consumers,” he said.
The training also aims at capacity building and product improvement to enhance entrepreneurs’ perpetual growth into large scale producers.
The partnership also seeks to enable small scale manufacturers register their business premises and deliver their samples for testing and certification.
Through the training, entrepreneurs will also be able to get first-hand education on tuning their products and services towards quality.
Entrepreneurs are expected to gain a competitive advantage even at the regional market as the country gears up to transforming into an industrial state by 2025.
The food trade in the country is diverse covering almost every category of food from cereals, meat, milk vegetables and beverage both in processed and unprocessed forms.
It has become evident that food safety is a concept that cannot be compromised in the food industry as its implications can be devastating resulting to food borne diseases and infections that can lead even to loss of life.
Tanzania has adopted a food and nutrition policy that aims at improving the food security and nutrition status in the country.
