The hidden poison in Uganda’s food

What the report says

The Observer reports on growing concerns over food adulteration and unsafe handling in Uganda, focusing on products sold in informal and formal markets that may not be what shoppers expect. The article opens with the case of Allen Lunkusse in Lungujja, who said she bought milk from the same seller for a month before her baby became ill and she later learned the milk had allegedly been mixed with cassava and sometimes baking powder. The newspaper notes that the account does not prove the additives caused the sickness, but it highlights wider consumer risks.

The report says milk, groundnut paste, honey and cooking oil are among the foods that have drawn concern. It cites a 2025 Makerere University study on groundnut powder and paste sold in Kampala’s open markets, which found evidence of adulteration in a significant share of sampled products and identified substances such as cassava flour, millet flour, bean powder, jackfruit seed powder and maize flour. The article also points to other incidents, including a 2026 report from Busia on honey allegedly containing molasses and a 2017 seizure of adulterated cooking oil by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).

Food rights advocates say the problem is hard for consumers to detect and difficult for authorities to measure nationally because Uganda lacks a comprehensive survey. Agnes Kirabo of Food Rights Alliance argues that deliberate fraud should be distinguished from poor storage or handling, while also calling for stronger support for safe food production. The piece says UNBS acknowledges enforcement challenges, including limited staffing and the difficulty of monitoring markets nationwide.