UNBS Declares 195 Standards Compulsory

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperative, Hon. Francis Mwebesa has declared 195 new standards compulsory, in accordance with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Act Cap 327, Section 18 (1) (a) and on recommendation of the National Standards Council (NSC).

Out of the new 195 standards declared compulsory; 78 are in the Chemicals and Consumer products sector, 41 are in the engineering sector, 42 are in the Food and Agricultural Sector and 34 are in the Management and Services sector.

Compulsory standards refer to standards for products that directly affect the human and animal health and safety, provide quality requirements for products and services, affect the environment and COMPLIANCE is a MUST. These include standards for food products, cosmetics, textiles, children’s toys, furniture, farm tools, engine oils and others.

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Some of the new standards declared compulsory include foam mattress standards, essential oils standards, Apiculture and Apiculture products standards, Mascara (cosmetics) standards, and requirements for transportation of dangerous products among others.

20 national standards have also been amended to meet the current trade demands. These include; disposable sanitary towels standards, knitted Polyester fabrics and others.

The list of standards can be viewed on the UNBS Website via https://unbs.go.ug and can be purchased via https://webstore.unbs.go.ug

What’s a Standard?

A standard is a document that contains rules, guidelines or characteristics of given product. Standards are important because they guide the user on the required and appropriate designs of products, services and systems, which in turn improves product, service and systems’ quality, leading to efficiency as business costs are reduced, profits are increased, driving growth of the business sector and Ugandan economy at large.