Some of the of the blacklisted brands of infant formula on display in a Dar es Salaam shop yesterday. The Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority says it has not yet been ascertained whether the brands were safe for human consumption.
Agency's inspectors raid several shopping centres in city and impound suspect infant formula for testing
By Bernard James
The Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) has blacklisted more brands of imported infant formula.
The move is likely to spark concerns among parents whose children were using the products.
The blacklisted brands are SMA Progress, SMA-1, SMA-Gold, Al-Mudhish, S-26 Gold-1, S-26 Gold-3, S-26 Promil Gold, S-26 Promil No2, Nursoy Iron Fortified and S-26 Progress manufactured between January and September, this year.
TFDA inspectors descended on several shops in Dar es Salaam last week and ordered that the milk be temporarily taken off the shelves.
A seizure order issued to retailers in the city, whose copy was made available to The Citizen, said it had not yet been ascertained whether the milk was safe for babies.
The inspectors took with them samples of milk for testing, and ordered traders to not sell their stocks pending further directives from the authority.
However, the proscribed brands had been on sale in various parts of the country for quite some time before TFDA?s directive.
In August, TFDA declared S-26 (1) infant formula unfit for human consumption and banned it from being distributed and sold in the country.
The new development is likely to heighten anxiety and panic among mothers feeding their infants the suspect powdered milk.
Some told The Citizen yesterday that they were confused, and did not know which brands were safe for their children.
TFDA officials accompanied by armed police officers raided several shopping centres in Dar es Salaam in last Wednesday's operation and seized an unspecified amount of infant formula on the grounds that its quality and safety had not been established.
Namanga and Kinondoni TX were among shopping centres involved in the operation. It could not be immediately established whether the exercise would be extended to other areas in the city.
Three senior TFDA officials reached yesterday declined to comment, but said the agency would issue a statement today.
But owners of the shops targeted in the operation criticised TFDA, and accused the agency of the state agency of "harassment and intimidation". They said the products were acquired through proper channels and were safe.
The traders added that they had engaged a lawyer to institute legal proceedings against TFDA.
?If the milk is not fit for babies, TFDA should have alerted the public and given us prior notice to remove the milk from the shelves before launching the operation.
It's very unfortunate that they are only targeting a few areas whereas these products are sold all over Tanzania," Mr Abdallah Hamad said.
Another shop-owner said: "This is not the first time they have seized or banned infant formula. We suspect that there is something sinister behind these operations."
However, a survey by The Citizen established that most of the brands blacklisted by TFDA were on sale in other parts of the city.
Another shop owner said TFDA was needlessly inconveniencing traders.
"Why shouldn?t the agency seize the milk at entry points instead of harassing us? We only buy and sell these products?it's not our duty to carry out laboratory tests," Mr Adam Sheweji said.
A housewife, Ms Aisha Abdallah, could not find infant formula for her four-month-old baby at the Namanga shopping centre.
"This is not fair at all. We always hear confusing stories about the safety of baby milk. Whom should we believe?" she protested loudly in one of the shops.
She demanded to know why the authorities did not carry out their tests early and release appropriate information to the public before traders were allowed to sell the milk. "It's so confusing?it's now almost impossible to differentiate safe from unsafe milk," Ms Abdallah said.
Earlier this year, TFDA banned the importation, distribution and sale in Tanzania of the S-26 (1) baby formula manufactured by Pharmcare Limited of South Africa after it was found to be unfit for human consumption.
The authority had acted after receiving reports that the infant formula with iron was causing harmful health effects in children. These included sneezing, stomach discomfort and vomiting. Others reported that the powder had an abnormal smell and did not mix well with water.
Some 38,560 tins of the product weighing 400 grammes each were seized and sampled for laboratory analysis. The laboratory analysis showed that the formula was unfit for human consumption and the milk was banned.
The Tanzania Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act empowers TFDA inspectors to seize food products suspected to be unfit for human consumption.
Source:thecitizen.co.tz/
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