Togo: Over 60% of imported tomatoes contain too much lead (OADEL)
Thursday, 28 October 2021 16:45 
(Togo First) - Most of the concentrated tomato imported into Togo contains too much lead and could harm consumers, according to the Togolese Association of Consumers (TAC) and the Organization for Food and Local Development (OADEL).
The two entities released, in the framework of the ongoing consuming local month, results of studies they carried out in partnership with the Togolese Institute for Agricultural Research (ITRA).
“We worked with ITRA’s laboratories and were surprised to find that over 62% of tomatoes imported have lead levels that exceed the norm,” said Amétoégninou Tata (picture), executive director OADEL. “I believe this should alert our authorities (...) if we want to promote local products, we can’t accept low-cost imported products that compete unfairly with our local products. Moreover, they harm our health,” he added.
Based on their findings, the TAC and OADEL“made recommendations first to the director of external trade and suggested that he does everything to make sure that tomatoes that enter the territory are analyzed and get a quality certification,” said Léon Koffi Agboka, member of the TAC. According to him, the certificate will regulate the sales of imported tomatoes in Togo.
The two parties also asked for more experts to be dispatched on the field, for better monitoring of products concerned.
Besides warning populations about the risks of consuming imported tomatoes, the TAC and OADEL used the opportunity to encourage them to consume local products more.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
