Ugandan toilet papers are below standards and are a danger to human life, the country’s Bureau of standards has said.
According to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), manufacturers of these toilet papers are exposing consumers, especially women to diseases such as cervical cancer and candida.
The findings are contained in a research that was commissioned by the surveillance department of UNBS to find out the PH and bacterial load makeup and strength of sheets from which toilet papers are made.
Ms Patricia Ejalu, the UNBS deputy executive director, said after analyzing a research on toilet papers they had commissioned recently, the results were not good.
“Most of the toilet papers on the market were below [required standards],” she said during a consultative meeting with toilet paper manufacturers in Kampala last week.
She indicated that players will from July 1 be required to get certification to manufacture the product.
However, some importers have raised concerns, with manufacturers arguing that the move will increase the price of toilet papers, as they would have to shift from their current raw material source (China) to the UK.
In January, UNBS destroyed substandard goods worth Ush1.7 billion ($459,000), of which an estimated Ush6.4 million ($1,728) was the value of toilet papers, according to local media Daily Monitor.
According to UNBS, a number of manufacturers produce toilet papers in cottages without certification.
Others are illegally reproducing existing products, specifically those manufactured in China.
