By PIUS RUGONZIBWA, 8th November 2011 Daily News
THE Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) has seized and ordered for immediate deportation of 29 tonnes of garlic imported from China feared to be unfit for human consumption.
TFDA Public Relations Officer, Mrs Gaudensia Simwanza, told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the consignment, property of city-based Bravo Electric and Trading Company, arrived at the Dar es Salaam Port in September this year, before the Authority's inspectors suspected it.
The consignment, estimated at the value of about 2000 US Dollars (about 4.5m/-), had no required labels indicating validity and expiry dates as well as packaging agent who processed it, according to international procedures.
"We discovered, upon inspection of the consignment, that necessary information that must accompany it were not provided as per legal requirements governing labelling of products as released in 2006," she said.
Due to the shortcomings, she said TDFA immediately contacted the consignee who admitted and promised to return the products to China at his own expense.
Samples of the boxes packed with hundreds of garlic pieces could be seen labelled 'Fresh garlic' on one side and 'Normal white garlic' and 'Best produce of China' on the other side of the boxes.
Speaking at the Dar es Salaam Port on Tuesday, the agent who cleared the consignment representing his firm, Ms Platnum Trading Co., said, on condition of anonymity, that it was the first time for Bravo Electric and Trading Company to import the garlic which, according to research, sells like hot cakes in the local market.
Imported garlic, according to him, is now sold at 7,000/- per kilogram which is equivalent to 7m/- per tonne.
TFDA officials and Tanzania Revenue Authority were also seen busy at the Dar es Salaam Port yesterday making physical verifications of the container ready for the deportation exercise.
According to Mrs Simwanza, of late there have emerged some Tanzanian traders who arrange business trips to China and other Asian countries and import food products without complying with import regulations as required by the law of the land.
"We urge food importers to comply with import regulations and TFDA procedures, failure of which we will seize their imports and destroy or deport them to their countries of origin," she insisted.