The National Biosafety Authority has destroyed various food products and feed containing uncertified Genetically Modified Organisms – GMO’s which were seized last month from three top supermarkets that include Food Lovers, Game Stores and Spar.
The products which were destroyed in the presence of Zambia Police officers and Store representatives include biscuits, chips, soups, spices, soya pieces, cornflakes and assorted crackers whilst feed included dog and cat food.
The products were seized for not having been subjected to risk assessment after which permits or certification for import or placing on the market are issued by the Authority once such products are found to be safe for human consumption.
The Authority pounced on the unsuspecting chain supermarkets at East Park, Arcades and Manda Hill Shopping malls in February for selling products containing genetically modified organisms which have not been assessed for their safety as food or feed thereby contravening provisions of the Biosafety Act No 10 of 2007.
The Authority told the Zambia Business Times – ZBT that it will continue its surveillance, spot and compliance checks to ensure that stores comply with the law.
“Surveillance, compliance and spot checks are ongoing. We are happy that some chain stores are complying with a good example being Cheers which was found to be in good books at the time of the spot visit as they had all the permits from their distributors,” they said.
