The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has closed down the production facility belonging to Mbogo Quality Cuts Limited located in Bulenga, the processors of Alpha Special brand of sausages, due to poor hygienic conditions contrary to the Standard for good manufacturing and hygienic practices.
The closure follows a consumer complaint to UNBS that the conditions under which meet was being processed did not meet standards for good hygiene standards.
The UNBS Surveillance team inspected the premises and established that the hygienic condition at the production facility were contrary to the specifications of Code of practice for Hygiene in Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry (US 28 EAS 39: 2002) and specifications for beef sausages (US 739:2012)
The UNBS Inspection report reveals that the general hygiene of the production facility was very poor with moulds on the walls, rotten meat which was turning green was kept inside non-functioning deep freezers and fridges.
There were traces of meat all over the floor, poor drainage system with no water, dirty drums and buckets which were stained were among the production equipment used. As a result, the appalling unhygienic conditions attracted flies all over the production area and outside the factory.
UNBS inspectors did not find records of medical examination reports of workers for their fitness to handle food as per the requirements of the standard. The Team did not find evidence of a hand washing facility and foot bath to the entrance of the production area. The production facility was not demarcated into different sections to avoid cross contamination.
The company did not have records of quality monitoring undertaken during the production process and it did not have test reports from UNBS and other accredited external laboratories. There were no cleaning records for the factory and production equipment.
The general structure setup and ventilation of the factory was very poor in addition to filthy and smelly toilets. All the findings were contrary to the requirements of the standards and thus the factory was closed.