A combined team of Luanshya Municipal Council Health Inspectors and Court officials yesterday swung into action and destroyed more than 700 Bokomo Cornflakes containing traces of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
The Corn Flakes were burnt after Luanshya Magistrate Edward Banda issued an Order of Disposal following an application by the local authority and destroyed 165 by 750 grams and 697 by 500 grams cases of Bokomo Corn Flakes.
Luanshya Municipal Council Public Relations Manager Gideon Thole said in a press statement that the corn flakes were destroyed because a South African based food processing and manufacturing company Bokomo is in contravention of the Biosafety Act.
He said the company was not making an application to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) for authority to import the corn flakes containing GMOs in accordance to section 10 of the Biosafety Act.
Thole said “ Luanshya health inspectors confiscated the corn flakes from a local leading chain-store after the Ministry of Local Government and the Attorney-General issued separate circulars urging Councils throughout the country to exercise their powers of seizure, disposal and destroy without compensation on any products containing Genetically Modified Organisms which are imported into the country, exported or placed on the Zambian market without adhering to the provisions and requirements of the Biosafety Act Chapter 10 of 2010 of the Laws of Zambia” .
He explained that the National Biosafety Authority is the government institution specifically mandated to handle matters relating to Genetically Modified Organisms in Zambia.
Mr. Thole however said it is important for members of the public to note that although the seized cornflakes contain the authorized GMO threshold of 0.9 percent in conformity with the Biosafety Regulations of Genetically Modified Organism for food, feed and processing they are being illegally sold on the local market.
He pointed out that the fact that the law was not followed by Bokomo when importing the cornflakes into Zambia makes this fact inconsequential.
Mr Thole has since appealed to residents and other stakeholders to be on alert and ensure that stringent measures are put in place to deal with matters of biosafety.
He further appealed to consumers in Luanshya to take time to examine expiry dates, ingredients and also ensure that traces of genetically modified organisms in the food products was within the authorised threshold of 0.9 percent in conformity with the Biosafety Act.
Mr Thole additionally advised consumers to report any trader selling products which are labelled in foreign languages which could not be read by Zambians or trading expired goods among others to health inspectors or the Public Health Officers at Luanshya Civic Centre.
The corn flakes were set ablaze at the Council dumpsite in the presence of health inspectors and representatives of the Luanshya Magistrate Court.
Good work. ..distroy these Monsanto products! !
Why do people eat cornflakes anyway? There’s no health benefit in them, just eat fresh corn or chiwaya.
I never touch it I eat oats porridge. ..even boarding school “maize sampo” is more nutritious.
How stupid. That food could have gone to hungry people. Not al GMOs are Monsanto. The ignorance here is appalling.
With 43% of Zambia in extreme poverty, and over 200k people at risk for not having enough food, your uninformed statement is absolutely appalling. Even if GMO foods were more dangerous than non-GMO foods (of which there is no credible evidence), I’m pretty sure eating them would be preferable to starvation.
Jay jay
If you ate ichiwaya at school, am afraid you can not enjoy cornflakes, you are from the old school baba.I personally enjoy them kellloggs nama coco pops.
Nothing wrong with gmo who will live forever anyway.
But surely those boxes don’t look anything close to 700. Even by counting and over estimating the brunt ashes we would be lucky to make 100. Where are the 600. But Naikosa pa Zed
Haha.. Yena ma box babiisa. Mailo bafaka pa tuntemba twawo na kugulisa futi. Ni pa zed ka! Hahaha…
Those council workers will eating flakes at home for breakfast for one month!!lol
The guards there are takig them home for their own families. Such cereals are relatively rare treats for the average income east African
You are sure you are applying this Act impartially? Go to Pick n Pay and check different brands of coffee, the most attractive are written in Malaysian and Turkish and I don’t think most of us can read these languages.
Jokers ! You destroy those but your keep on eating genetically modified chickens everyday.Almost everything is genetically modified these days.
There are no genetically modified chickens! Why are you telling lies?
What do you think makes those chickens to grow in six weeks ? They have been genetically modified to produce abnormal growth hormones.The same applies to those maize seeds you buy from pana.They also have been modified in order to mature early.
DO WE HAVE A COUNCIL IN ZAMBIA WITH SUCH A NAME (LUNANSHYA)? THE PLACE HOWEVER, APPEARS LIKE “LUANSHYA”! LT WHERE IS THIS COUNCIL IN ZAMBIA?
Why dispute and then ask a question! If it is not “Lunanshya” as the lt has said – you should then tell us what it is called!! Wali pena ayi? You are a confused Monkey CNP are you not? Panyo!
Somehow the Title annoyed me too…spelling ! It is Luanshya, where my grandparents are from…I am from Chingola Nchanga, so I know.
Starving people could have had those but I guess this ‘moral battle’ against something completely harmless was more important.
Whatever helps these *****s sleep at night.
The story here is that some government officials didn’t get their kickback so they destroy good food.
I hope you put a filter hood over the burning corn flakes to capture the atmospheric GMOs that you released into the entire continent. We all know that GMOs have also been genetically engineered to resist destruction by burning!
It’s so easy to create a straw man—look it up—to knock down. Proves nothing, though, however satisfying it feels to know it all.
BTW, you were genetically modified, by your parents.
I saw GMO butter/margarine in Pick N Pay Kitwe. Always read before buying.
Let me get this straight: so you do allow GMOs provided they are written 0.9 on the package to satisfy your bio safety threshold, right? So all the chain gang did was to ignore your bio safety Act, right? Something just ain’t right here… someone don’t love somebody anymore.
What a load of TOSH! What trace of GMO? Where is the evidence? Cigarettes are killing more Zambians everyday, and you do not call for the ban of cigarette smoking. Ignorance has reached epidemic proportions in the nation.
Rich people are free to discus socio political and economic and philosophical aspects of gmos but please let the poor eat meanwhile. I’m sure the government officials are not the one’s starving. This is sick, even if you are anti GMO, please do not push down the plate of a child with a morsel of food, claiming love.
Disposing things by open air burning is forbidden read the Environmental Management Act No. 12 of 2011 . there are best methods of disposing off things that can dissolve in water baane. Then you can recycle the boxes through Zambezi paper mills or those tissue manufacturing companies. burning is the old fashion of disposal, as it contributes to ozone depleting which leads to global warming and eventually contributing to climate change due carbon dioxide emissions.
Good courageous move, that could/should be followed up by promoting healthy whole local cereals like millet
There have now been so many non industry trials that show major negative effects of GMO’s and the chemicals used to grow them, such as Glyphosate (Round Up weed killer) and neonicotinoid systemtic pesticide coating of the seeds (now identified as major cause of bee colony collapse disorder devastating Western countries). I wish Zambia would keep up its globally respected fight against GMO contamination of our health and crops.
Please cite references to your claims, you ignorant.