KABANDA CHULU, Lusaka
THE Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) has between July and September conducted 357 inspections on local products to evaluate levels of compliance to set standards on regulated items.
In a statement on Friday, ZABS head of marketing and public relations Hazel Zulu said the objective is to ensure that only safe products are sold to Zambians.
“Some of the products that were inspected include beverages, assorted food items, cement, chemicals and chemical products. Other products inspected were animal feed and electric cables,” she said.
Ms Zulu said the type of inspections conducted on the mentioned products included compliance monitoring, spot checks, surveillances and investigation.
“Others were technical support inspections and follow-up inspections. Most of the inspections were carried out in Lusaka, Southern and Copperbelt provinces. Sixty-four products were inspected in July, 132 in August and 161 in September.
“The levels of compliance on most locally produced products are improving due to the increase in the number of inspections and awareness programmes conducted by the Bureau,” she said.
She said ZABS will continuously inspect locally manufactured products that fall under its mandate to ensure the products are reliable, safe and of the right quality.
“ZABS would like to urge manufacturers to partner with the institution so that they are guided on how best they can use standards to enhance their product quality,” Ms Zulu said.