Goods worth over K90, 000 have been destroyed in Lusaka by the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) for containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
The various food products and feed containing GMOs were seized from Game Stores, Spar Superstores and shops in Bauleni and destroyed in the presence of police officers.
NBA Communications Officer, Sandra Lombe said in a press statement released to media yesterday that the products came into the country without authorization and had not been subjected to risk assessment to ascertain their safety.
Ms Lombe disclosed that the goods include bags of super maize meal from South Africa, which was seized from Bauleni.
She said other goods destroyed comprise Kellogs Noddles , Spar Woof dog food of various flavours, Savemor tea and chocolate biscuits, Kellogs Crumbs, Bisto Original, Savemor soya mince and Savemor soups.
Ms Lombe said the Authority during its spot and compliance checks discovered that Game stores and Spar were trading in some products suspected to contain GMOs that were not granted permits.
The affected stores where the products were seized include Game stores at Manda Hill and Cosmopolitan as well as Spar Superstore at Twin Palm, Cross Roads and Mumbwa road.
“These traders contravened the Biosafety Act as they were selling the products without prior authorization from the NBA,” read the statement in part.
Meanwhile, the Authority has since intensified inspections at some ports of entry following the training of port of entry health inspectors who have been placed at 11 critical ports of entry around the country.
“This means that we enhanced our alertness and doing our best to ensure that no an authorized GMO product finds itself on the Zambian market,” the statement read in part.
The NBA has since urged traders, distributors and suppliers to ensure that they do not abrogate the Biosafety Act No 10 of 2007 as doing so will result in them suffering loss through seizure and destruction of their goods.
“As the Authority we will not hesitate to seize and destroy any products which may contain GMOs that is found on the Zambian market, without such products being subjected to risk assessment by NBA,” he said.
People are starving, but these are subotaging. These PF like destroying things.
Great development. Our people are not animals to be fed this rubbish. We would rather starve than our people eat this cancer. Nostradamus if you feel so strongly about gmo why don’t you and hh feed it to your household? This is why you lose election. You have no integrity
Better to starve than eat poison. There are enough organic products to feed Zambians and not this GMO junk which only serves to satisfy the greed of the food monopoly.
is that the best way to dispose off waste national biosafety? and that burned waste will find itself in treams and rivers once the rain season starts in months time.