TFDA puts kiddy’s pet choppies on health alert

LUDOVICK KAZOKA

THE Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) is now investigating yet unconfirmed reports that a children’s pet snack known as ‘Chama’ could be ‘harmful to human health.’

The move comes amid reports that the ‘bite turns into glue’ when doused with liquid, hence increased public concerns over its safety.

TFDA Director General, Mr Hiiti Sillo, revealed this during an interview with TBC1 in Dar es Salaam at last Monday’s evening news, saying the food and drugs watchdog had already collected samples of the snack for examination at its laboratory.

“The tests may take between a week to a fortnight (14 days) … so we’ll release the results sometime next week,” the TFDA boss told the “Tunatekeleza” TV Programme.

Mr Sillo hailed the TFDA as “one of model institutions” to most African countries due to its globally recognized systems which had since won accolades from other authorities on the continent – now seeking to “borrow a leaf” from the country’s food and drugs watchdog.

“For the past five years we’ve had to offer training to drugs authorities in 15 African countries and there are still some (pending) requests from countries for such training,” he observed.

Mr Sillo said Tanzania’s neighbours lacked the requisite systems to prevent the importation of banned cosmetics, posing challenges to this country as well, given our porous common borders; so such cosmetics can easily find their way into the country.

“We have therefore been calling for regional cooperation in order to control banned cosmetics,” he said.

The TFDA chief also urged the public to accord TFDA prompt cooperation when they come across suspicious imports (of banned cosmetics), pointing out that most of the forbidden cosmetics were manufactured clandestinely at residential houses.

On a consignment of rice seized in the city recently, he said preliminary investigations had finally indicated the rice was “unsafe” to human health, saying TFDA officials and the police were finalizing investigations on the suspects behind the consignment.