…As authorities secure 350 bags
ASHENEWS reports that Zambians on Saturday, GM tusk super maize meal from a truck involved in an accident at Dallas Hill, between Munali Hills and Mazabuka.
However, the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) and the country’s Police recovered 350 bags.
The truck, according to the Communication Officer of the Authority, Sandra Lombe, who spoke with ASHENEWS in a phone conversation on Sunday, was transiting with 34 metric tonnes of the consignment in Southern Province.
Lombe said a truck transiting tusk super maize meal, which contains genetically modified organisms (GMO), from South Africa, was destined for the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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She further explained that the truck was involved in a traffic accident at Dallas Hill, between Munali Hills and Mazabuka, and the meal was thrown out of the trailer.
“The Authority granted a Transit Permit to a trader, Sydney Zambwe, to transport about 34 metric tonnes of the meal. The truck was cleared at the Kazungula border and was en route to Kasumbalesa when the unfortunate incident happened.
“Unfortunately while some of the mealie meal spilled, some other bags were allegedly looted by some people from the nearby communities. However, quick action by the law enforcement agencies including NBA officers managed to secure the 350 bags of the maize mealie meal,” she told ASHENEWS.
The Authority calls on the people who got the mealie meal to return it. It is an offense for anyone to place on the market any product that may contain GMOs without prior authorization from the NBA, therefore anyone with information on the looted mealie meal should report to the nearest police station.
“In this case, the Authority has not conducted a risk assessment on the mealie meal as it was just supposed to pass through Zambia. Therefore, we urge all the people that could have looted the mealie meal from the accident scene to surrender it to the authorities.”
The NBA called on the people, who had looted the GM mealie, to surrender the mealie meal they looted from the accident scene
