RBS warns of sub-standard products through porous borders

Rwanda Bureau of Standards-RBS says that dealers in substandard products are using porous borders to import the products into the country, warning the public to be vigilant of the products on the market.

Due to strict measures the standard body has set up to monitor the market mainly imports, the dealers are now using some of the porous borders to re-import products to the country.

“The dealers in counterfeit products are taking advantage of the weak market monitoring in some of neighboring countries to re-import the products into our market, so the public must be vigilant,” Mark Bagabe Cyubahiro, Director General of Rwanda Bureau of Standards said.

Bagabe said that the body has set up efforts to monitor the market and impound all substandard products that may have infiltrated into the market, something that has helped consumers to be safe from the substandard products.

“porous borders is an issue especially when  all countries do not  put much efforts  in monitoring  substandard products, but  once a single country  strengthens market surveillance like Rwanda has done , then I believe the products will always be found and impounded,” Davis Mukiza, Business consultant said

Recently, Rwanda stepped up its market surveillance where counterfeit Television sets, substandard electrical wires among others were impounded while it also saw manufacturers of milk products such as yoghurt were asked to close until they rectified the challenge of poor hygiene.

Bagabe notes that ensuring quality products will help the public to keep healthy thus contribute to a strong working force for the country.

“There are some hazardous elements in these products that are dangerous to human body, for example, aflatoxins that are found in Maize and other cereals. This is why ensuring standards for products need to be emphasized,” Job Opar, Consumer protection expert said.

Under the Basel Convention Technical Guidelines, some of the prohibited elements and which are common in most manufactured products include, Mercury Compounds, Ethylene Dichloride, Aldrin, Chlordane and Heptachlor.

Others are Hexachlorobenzene (ISO) and DDT (ISO), 1, 2 Dibromoethane (EDB), Dinitro-Ortho-Cresol (DNOC) and its salts (such as Ammonium Salt,Potassium Salt and Sodium Salt, distilled beverages containing essential oils or chemical products,  among others.