The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has urged consumers to prioritise buying certified products from recognised suppliers in order to avoid the dangers associated with substandard and counterfeit goods.
Daniel Arorwa, Head of the Market Surveillance Department at UNBS, warned that purchasing cheap goods from informal vendors exposes families to serious health and safety risks.
Arorwa advised consumers to be cautious about where they buy products, noting that items obtained from unidentified sellers without receipts or clear business locations are difficult to trace if they later cause harm.
“When consumers buy products from unknown sources, it becomes challenging for authorities to track the origin of those goods if complaints arise,” he said.
He also cautioned against the growing problem of counterfeit products, where unscrupulous traders imitate well-known brands without meeting the required standards in an attempt to capture the market.
Meanwhile, officials at UNBS say products submitted for testing are handled through a rigorous and organised process at the bureau’s laboratories.
According to sample reception officer Duncan Mugume, samples received at the laboratories are first logged into a Laboratory Information Management System before being distributed to the relevant technical departments for testing.
UNBS laboratories test a wide range of products commonly used in Uganda, including wines, construction materials, mattresses, petroleum products and electrical items.
Most test results are released within 20 working days, although some products such as cement require mandatory tests that can take up to 28 days to complete.
The bureau says strengthening collaboration with the media will play a key role in raising public awareness about standards and helping protect consumers from unsafe products.
