By Matik Kueth
The leadership of the South Sudan Freight Forwarders Association (SSFFA), has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the South Sudan National Bureau of Standards (SSNBS) in clamping down on the growing menace of substandard and smuggled food products into the country.
This pledge came during a high-level courtesy visit by the SSFFA executive team, led by the institution’s president, Deng Daniel, to Gloria Nyoka, Executive Director of SSNBS, on Monday in Juba.
The meeting, while ceremonial on the surface, revealed a deepening strategic alliance between two of the nation’s most critical institutions in the fight for food safety and public health.
The SSNBS and SSFFA have taken increasingly bold steps in recent years to stem the tide of unsafe, substandard, and sometimes contaminated food products being smuggled into South Sudan.
These products, often subsidized or expired, have made their way through porous borders, putting the lives of citizens at risk and undercutting local producers.
SSNBS, under the leadership of Ms. Nyoka, has ramped up border surveillance and product inspections.
The agency has recently made headlines for intercepting and rejecting numerous shipments of contaminated grains, including consignments with dangerously high levels of aflatoxins, poisonous compounds that pose serious health risks.
Meanwhile, SSFFA has been vocal in raising awareness among its members about the dangers of substandard imports, urging local producers and consumers to remain vigilant.
The organization has so far facilitated workshops and distributed information on identifying counterfeit food products.
The institution’s president, Daniel emphasized the need for faster and more efficient data sharing between agencies and called on farmers and food distributors to report any suspicious imports immediately.
“Our members are at the frontline. If they see something wrong, they must speak up. We are in this fight together,” Daniel said.
He added, “Prioritizing health over business is essential for maintaining a healthy and functional country. We cannot allow profit to come at the cost of people’s lives.”
Ms. Nyoka applauded SSFFA for their cooperation and reiterated its institution’s commitment to protecting through control measures.
“Our bureau does not exist to generate revenue or impose taxes. We are here to protect the people of South Sudan through enforcement of quality standards and control measures,” Ms. Nyoka said.
One of the key outcomes of the meeting was the shared recognition that border checkpoints are ground zero in the battle against food smuggling.
The agencies also discussed deploying joint task forces and increasing coordination with customs and border security to stop dangerous goods before they enter local markets.