Choose the maize products you consume carefully

By Daily Revelation Editor

Information and Media permanent secretary Thabo Kawana has named eight brands of mealie-meal which were found with elevated levels of aflatoxin among them, Pembe Milling, Africa Milling and Star Milling.

Other brands containing aflatoxin include aShabco Milling, Continental Milling, Girad Milling, Busu Milling as well as Farm Feed – Super Dog meal.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) last week confirmed that 400 dogs have died in the last month due to suspected Aflatoxin poisoning detected in maize meal and dog feed.

Health minister Dr Elijah Muchima disclosed that the Ministry and other stakeholders conducted sampling of 10 milling companies with 25 samples collected and 13 samples out of 25 tested positive for Aflatoxin levels exceeding standards.

Muchima said these toxins posed severe health risks to both humans and animals.

Several milling companies who have been mentioned have refused to counter the government’s position, including Pembe, which when earlier mentioned in media reports before the government named them, came out with their own very strong statement assuring consumers that the company was not associated with the contaminated products which were currently trending in the media.

“We understand the concern and alarm this news may have caused, and we want to reassure our esteemed customers and end consumers that we remain committed to upholding the highest health and safety standards for our brand,” Pembe Milling argued. “We prioritize the well-being and safety of our consumers and will never compromise on quality. We kindly request that individuals spreading false information about our brand cease and desist, as this is damaging our reputation and the trust we have built over the years.”

However, after the government named them and others liable for distributing brands with elevated aflotoxin, Pembe has failed to counter the government’s position let alone respond to media queries demanding for answers from them. Not only Pembe, but several other milling companies mentioned have also failed to provide answers to several queries.

This is quite unfortunate indeed. Rather than treat the media and the public to this silence, these milling companies must actually make themselves available to respond to queries from the public. It’s not as if Pembe or Star Milling and the other companies mentioned have stopped selling their products. Getting rid of a few sacks produced during the period coinciding with those collected for sampling is not synonyms with stopping production. These individual companies have a duty to explain to Zambians how safe their brands are. How safe is the maize they are using for their produce? Have they made changes in terms of the places they secure their maize from? If so, how? Given the poor yields in the country where it is now importing the crop from the other countries.

Have they made changes in terms of their storage for instance? And how have they done that given this very short period when they are required to make those adjustments? How safe is the produce they are selling to consumers now? There are a lot of questions they must answer.

Besides that, the government too has a responsibility. Yes, they say they will continue to monitor the situation closely in order to enforce regulatory measures to protect animals and humans. But the companies mentioned plus several others not mentioned have continued trading. Will they have enough in terms of surveillance to monitor the efficacy of the crop being used to make the produce?

Other than just mentioning the brands involved, we feel the government in the protection of Zambians must actually place a demand on these milling companies to give conclusive answers to Zambians. Some of these millers are saying that they have agreed that the Millers Association of Zambia will issue a statement on behalf of the millers. If so, what is the association waiting for to issue a comment on this matter of urgency? Are they wishing the matter to go away in the same manner most national matters die natural deaths, while people and animals are dying? This must not be allowed. Zambians must demand that the millers either in their individual capacities or their association must provide conclusive answers now to allay public anxieties on the products they are supplying. It should not be entertained that one week after the whole saga was announced, the association has remained mute on a matter of such public health urgency.

For now, we urge Zambians to be extremely cautious, choosy in terms of the mealie-meal brands they buy, until they are assured with concrete assurances that the food they and are consuming is safe for human and animal consumption.