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Zambia drafts quality health standards for fruits, vegetables

Xinhua, June 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Zambia has drafted standards on various fruits and vegetables to help promote quality and safe products, its standards agency said Tuesday.

The Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) said the draft standards included fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, green bananas, onions, oranges, cabbages, mangoes, pineapples and avocados, among others.

Hazel Zulu, head of marketing and public relations at the standards agency said the draft standards provided for product specifications and requirements for packaging, ripening conditions, storage and transportation of fruit and vegetables for all handlers.

"We would also like to underscore the health and nutritional benefits of good quality fruits and vegetables hence the need for such products to meet set standards," she said in a statement.

According to her, fresh fruits and vegetable could pose a health risk to consumers if not properly handled according to good agricultural policies.

The draft standards, she added, are based on international standards in order to promote regional and foreign trade.

She added that the draft documents were currently available and that stakeholders should collect them and make comments. Endit