TBS set to come up with new food import guidelines
What you need to know:
- To ensure that importers follow the right procedures while importing food products, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards says importers need to visit its website to become familiar with import procedures.
Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) said it was finalising guidelines that will help importers of food products know what is required before bringing products into the local market.
“Sometimes you find that products contain a label that specifies that they are not for Tanzania’s market. You are therefore compelled to ask the importer to communicate with the manufacturer to provide answers to that,” the TBS’s principal food inspector, Colleta Sarimbo, told journalists who visited the headquarters in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.
She stated that TBS has a procedure on its website for placing product orders, but added that the new guidelines will actually provide more opportunities for food sellers and importers.
TBS’s export products inspector, Andalalisye Mwakyonde, said business people needed to cooperate with government institutions in ensuring that the quality of products produced and imported into the country were those that could help protect the country’s economy and reduce losses for traders.
He said TBS conducts border and port inspections to ensure all products meet safety and quality requirements.
