UGANDA: Formalin, chemical used to stop dead bodies from rotting, is now being used to preserve edible items.

The widespread use of formalin, in preservation of fish, fruit and other food items is posing a threat to public health. The chemical used as a solution in water keeps fish fresh and makes fruits like mangoes,apples attractive. 

“This is a national public health issue. After my friend’s wife lost a baby through miscarriage and investigations showed the presence of formalin in her blood. When consumed, formalin goes to the liver and destroys it.”

 " Formalin’s effect on pregnancy and the reproductive system has been studied in both humans and in laboratory animals. Formaldehyde has been shown to decrease fertility and increase the risk of spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) in humans. In laboratory animals, formaldehyde can harm (birth defects and IQ) the developing fetus and damage sperm."

 I do not know how many of you received this message from a purportedly good Samaritan that meat sellers now use formalin to repel flies from meat. The message advised consumers to patronise butchers with flies around their meat as that is a clear sign of formalin-free meat.According to the message on the social media, “People are using formalin, the chemical used to preserve dead bodies in preserving meat as it keeps flies away. When I asked a pharmacist, Capt. Kenneth, member of UPDF, he said it is possible.”




Continuing, “This is a national public health issue. After my friend’s wife lost a baby through miscarriage and investigations showed the presence of formalin in her blood. When consumed, formalin goes to the liver and destroys it.”

Formalin-contaminated meat will not have the usual meat smell. Shop with your eyes wide open.

Appealing to consumers, the author in the message stated, “Please, people of God, this is serious. 

When you go to buy meat, go to a butcher that has flies around. Use this as the only way to confirm that there is no formalin present. If the meat is without flies, what is keeping them away is formalin.  

 Be informed. Share this information please and save a life.”

Formalin is an aqueous solution of the chemical compound Formaldehyde. Basically, between 35% and 40% solution of formaldehyde in water make formalin. It is used in the preservation of biological specimen and embalming in order to delay their decomposition.

It is also used for drying skin before or after surgical removal of warts or where dryness is required. Also, it is used for treating excessive foot moisture.
Formalin is said to be most effective for the treatment of Iche diseased fish and controlling parasites especially in fish ponds, etcetera. A mixture of formalin, methanol, ethanol and other solvents makes the embalming fluid which is used to preserve bodies till funeral.

What is formalin?
Formalin is a colourless strong-smelling chemical substance usually used in industry of textiles, plastics, papers, paint, construction, and well known to preserve human corpse. It is derived from formaldehyde gas dissolved in water.

Exposure from its gas or vapor can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and respiratory tract, causing sneezing, sore throat, larynx constriction, bronchitis and pneumonia. Multiple exposures can lead to asthma. It can also affect the skin, causing dermatitis or allergic reaction.

Serious inhalation or ingestion can cause severe pain with inflammation ulceration and necrosis of the mucous membranes, which line almost every internal organ. This may show as symptoms of nausea, vomiting blood, diarrhea with bloody stool, blood from the urine, acidosis, vertigo, and circulation failure, then death. 30mL is suggested the lethal dose of formalin. The limit allowed in air that is still safe for human is less than 2 ppm.

Formalin that was recently found in food, might not give such obvious reactions. However, this substance is known to be a carcinogenic substance, can precipitate cancer. A study showed mice exposed to formalin with concentration of 6 to 15 ppm for 2 years developed squamous-cell carcinoma in the nostril. Some other studies also show formalin will cause kidney, liver, and lung problems.

 Formalin inside?

• Fish. The fish will be stiff, have rubbery meat, hard scales, red gills, clear eyes, doesn’t have the “fishy smell” and no flies flying around.
• Squid. Very rubbery consistency. Unable to break the meat by hand, which you usually could, only can be cut by a knife.
• Other sea products, including dried salty fish. Formalin will make the fish become stiff, whitish and odorless. Even when cooked, i.e. fried, it will still be stiff.

How to avoid food with formalin?

• Fish, especially sea fish. Press the fish, if it feels tender, it should be free of formalin. Choose fish which still has its fishy smell. It’s best to buy live fish.
• Avoid dried salty fish

  "Formalin that was recently found in food, not only cause such health hazards, it can precipitate cancer."

  
FRUITS
Fruits are known to be foods of heaven. Fruits are being considered as nature’s best gift for human beings. Everyone knows that fruits are delicious, that is why, all generations of people are fond of them very much. But these heavenly foods aren’t that heavenly in our country. A section of unscrupulous traders were mixing formalin with foodstuff, including fruits. For the last few years, the contamination of foods with formalin is a burning issue, gradually people are coming to know how formalin is injurious to our health. Now people fear to eat fruits, even though fruits are proven to be very nutritious scientifically for centuries. Many essential nutrients are only present in fruits; therefore, contamination of formalin with fruits has deprived children from these essential nutrients. Conscious parents, who are concerned about this contamination, are not willing to give fruits to their children.

Formalin is a chemical used for preserving dead bodies in hospital mortuaries and dissection room in medical colleges, fixation of biopsy sample in medical examinations, and for disinfection of hospital rooms, operation theatres and few surgical instruments. But this formalin is now used unethically for preserving fruits. Formalin delays decomposition of fruits, so most of the venders use formalin. It is heard that fruits especially mangoes and litchis are sprayed with formalin when they are on trees! The widespread use of formalin, in preservation of fruit is posing a threat to public health. The chemical used as a solution in water keeps fruit apparently fresh and makes fruits like mangoes attractive. In our country presence of formalin has already been detected in fruits like apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes and even maltas.

 How do you recognize a formalin free fruit?
A fresh fruit is always firm or soft on touch. Its skin shows natural look which changes day by day. A fruit dipped in formalin solution feels hard on touch.  Colour of the fruits skin becomes dull and will not change over time. Usually the smell of fruits attract many insects. So, fresh fruits are surrounded by many fruit loving insects. But fruits with formalin are free from flies, bees, ants or any other fruit loving insects.  So, before you buy fruits watch for these scenarios.

Formalin is also used for preserving milk, fish, fruit and other foodstuffs, including vegetables.
Formalin is dangerous for all ages; children and older people are affected easily and badly. It is said, once formalin is added, it cannot be removed. So washing of fruits is not effective to make it safe. Few of our superstores claim they are selling formalin free fruits but these small effort are not in the reach of general people. Most people are exposed to the risk of formalin intoxication.  Intoxication of food stuffs like fruits by formalin silently ruin our future generation. Only awareness is not sufficient. Who has the responsibility to save us?

 fresh fruits are surrounded by many fruit loving insects. But fruits with formalin are free from flies, bees, ants or any other fruit loving insects.  So, before you buy fruits watch for these scenarios.

 Health hazards of formalin

Formalin is such a harmful chemical that the handlers of them are not safe. Formalin has a bad effect on eyes and nose. Eyes are most sensitive to formaldehyde (formalin) exposure. The eyes, nose, and throat are irritated by formaldehyde vapors at levels as low as about 0.3 part formaldehyde per million  parts of air (0.3 part per million, or 0.3 “ppm”). The lowest level at which many people can begin to smell formaldehyde is about 0.05ppm.  Exposure from its gas or vapor can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and respiratory tract, resulting in watery eyes, sneezing, headache, and burning sensations in throat, cough, and difficulty in breathing. Multiple exposures (5-30 ppm and higher) can trigger or aggravate asthma symptoms. Serious inhalation or ingestion can cause severe pain with inflammation, ulceration and necrosis of the mucous membranes, which lines almost every internal organ of the body. Formaldehyde solutions can destroy your skin’s natural protective oils, causing dryness, flaking, cracking, and dermatitis (skin rash). Skin contact can also cause an allergic reaction (redness, itching, hives, and blisters). Sometimes formalin can affect the retina and cause blindness.
Fruits dipped in formalin are harmful to health. The ingestion of formaldehyde over a prolonged period can develop respiratory, digestive, cardiac, nephrological and neurological problems, along with cancer.

Formalin is highly toxic to all animals, regardless of method of intake. Ingestion of as little as 30 ml (1 oz.) of a solution containing 37% formaldehyde has been reported to cause death in an adult human. Water solution of formaldehyde, i.e. formalin, is very corrosive and its ingestion can immediately cause severe injury to the upper digestive system. This may show up as symptoms of nausea, vomiting blood, and diarrhoea with bloody stool, blood from the urine, breathlessness, vertigo, and circulation failure, then death. 30ml is the suggested lethal dose of formalin. When formaldehyde enters into the body it is converted to formic acid, increases the acidity of blood and causes severe shortness of breath. But its long term use has a delayed effect such as damaging of kidneys, liver, brain, bone marrow, body defense and on fetus in pregnant women.
Some other studies also show formalin will cause kidney failure, liver damage, and lung problems like- bronchitis (chronic cough), pneumonia (severe inflammation in lung), asthma and allergic reactions. Researchers said its effects on the brain can cause dementia and loss of memory.
Anaemia and blood cancer can be consequences of bone marrow depression when formalin travels in blood. It also weakens the body’s defense mechanism against infections, resulting in repeated attacks of diseases. Formalin’s effect on pregnancy and the reproductive system has been studied in both humans and in laboratory animals. Formaldehyde has been shown to decrease fertility and increase the risk of spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) in humans. In laboratory animals, formaldehyde can harm (birth defects and IQ) the developing fetus and damage sperm.

Formalin that was recently found in food, not only cause such health hazards, it can precipitate cancer. A study showed mice exposed to formalin with concentration of 6 to 15 ppm for 2 years developed squamous-cell carcinoma (a type of cancer in mucous membrane) in the nose, sinuses, stomach as well as some types of blood cancer (leukemia and lymphoma).

ZIMBABWE:AFTER 37 YEARS,WHAT IS MUGABE'S LEGACY?

A DICTATOR OR A REVOLUTIONIST

 

 

 

 

 

 

He is clearly no Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko ,Yoweri Museveni or  Sani Abacha but who is he now???

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot has happened in the past few days in Zimbabwe, where the world’s oldest head of state tries to remain in power even under military house arrest. Thousands of giddy Zimbabweans are in the streets to demand his departure, tired of a collapsing economy that once was one of Africa’s strongest. Here’s a quick guide to the key events and players

The 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe has been under house arrest since Tuesday, when the military moved in. That decision was sparked by Mugabe’s firing of his longtime deputy, leading to fears that the president was positioning his unpopular wife, Grace, to succeed him. Mugabe is said to be asking for more time amid negotiations on his departure. The military has been taking pains to refer to him as president and allowed him to make a public appearance Friday at a graduation ceremony, where he received polite applause.

 

Several thousand people are in the streets of the capital, Harare, to demand Mugabe’s exit as Zimbabweans giddily explore the rare freedom of expression amid the political limbo. Saturday’s demonstration was approved by the military and has participation from across the political spectrum, from Mugabe’s once-staunch loyalists among the liberation war veterans to opposition activists long-used to police crackdowns.

 

Zimbabwe’s army commander on Monday threatened to “step in” after Mugabe fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the next day he did. In an extraordinary image later in the week, state-run media published photos of Gen. Constantino Chiwenga shaking hands with a smiling Mugabe at the State House as negotiations with regional leaders continued. The military is trying not to project the image of a coup, which could bring regional sanctions and further harm the country’s standing with international investors.

 

The state-run broadcaster on Friday night devoted its nightly news to footage of ruling ZANU-PF party leaders across the country calling on Mugabe to step aside and calling him old and incapacitated. All 10 provincial party branches have passed no-confidence votes and asked for a Central Committee meeting within two days as the party moves to recall Mugabe and possibly press for impeachment when Parliament resumes Tuesday.

 

Grace Mugabe has been out of the picture, literally, since the military stepped in. Once ever-present at her husband’s side at public events, she has not been seen in days. The quick-tempered first lady, deeply unpopular among Zimbabweans for her lavish spending, did not accompany the president at Friday’s graduation ceremony. She was not pictured in the photographs of the State House negotiations. Despite rumors that she has fled the country, she is thought to remain under house arrest. In one example of Zimbabweans’ anger at the idea of her becoming their next president, one sign at Saturday’s massive demonstration read: “Leadership is not sexually transmitted.”

 

 Mr Mugabe's actions have led to a widespread view at home and abroad that the Zimbabwean government no longer considers itself bound by the rule of law - that the president is, in effect, a dictator. 

There are not many, even among his opponents, who would compare Zimbabwe's president to Africa's most notorious rulers.

He is clearly no Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko or Sani Abacha. Zimbabwe's press is still among the most vigorous and outspoken in Africa, as demonstrated by the newspapers' constant denunciations of Mr Mugabe.

And yet more and more Zimbabweans view their president as anything but a democrat.

Mr Mugabe's supporters ask how a man elected with an overwhelming majority of the ballot in an indisputably free election just three years ago can be called a dictator.

He may be unpopular, they say, but that is wholly different from being an illegitimate leader. And Mr Mugabe's opinion poll ratings, at somewhere around 25% support, may be low but they are no worse than Margaret Thatcher at her most disliked.

Mr Mugabe's critics point out that Mrs Thatcher, whatever her authoritarian tendencies, did not repeatedly defy the courts, give blanket amnesty to people who murdered her political opponents, order the police not to enforce the law and use a private army of thugs against an array of targets.

Such critical views of Robert Mugabe are relatively recent even if his abuses of power are not. In the early Eighties, the Zimbabwean army murdered tens of thousands of civilians in Matabeleland in a bid to suppress dissent. But over the years that crime came to be seen as the exception to Mr Mugabe's otherwise popular rule.

Now he has returned to the tactics of the past. His use of the self-styled independence 'war veterans' to seize white-owned farms and to harass dissidents inside the ruling party horrifies but does not surprise many Zimbabweans.

But it is Mr Mugabe's repeated defiance of the courts that has raised greatest concern because it opens the way to almost any abuse, including an attempt to cling to power beyond the 2002 presidential election that he is almost certain to lose.

When the high court ordered the police to remove 'war veterans' who illegally occupied white-owned farms, the president told his police chief to ignore the court .Then

 

"Mr Mugabe granted amnesty to ruling party supporters who murdered 30 people during the run up to June's parliamentary election, and to the killers of a white farmer. The message was clear. Those who murder for the president will not be punished".

At the weekend, Mr Mugabe issued a decree ending any legal challenges to the results of the parliamentary ballot which, in some constituencies, was marred by violence, intimidation and rigging.

Mr Mugabe's actions have led to a widespread view at home and abroad that the Zimbabwean government no longer considers itself bound by the rule of law - that the president is, in effect, a dictator. 

One of the ruling party's powerful politburo members and former cabinet minister, Nathan Shamuyarira, is dismissive of such charges.

"This government has been guided by the rule of law for the past 20 years. We have had the high court rule against us before and we have obeyed. But we don't think the land is a legal matter, we think it is a political matter and it should be dealt with between the farmers and the government. We have refused to send the police for that purpose because we believe they should be resolved in another way. There is a fundamental difference between us and the courts on this," he said.

Mr Shamuyarira paints legal challenges to vote rigging as part of an international conspiracy against Mr Mugabe.

"The opposition is continuing to do this to harass us and tie us up in expensive legal processes so they can bankrupt us. They have a lot of money coming in from the British and American governments so they can afford to pay the lawyers. We can't afford to pay the lawyers," he said.

But the ruling party has not limited its scorn of the judiciary to defying court rulings. Senior officials have called for the expulsion from the country of white judges, who still dominate the higher reaches of the judiciary, on the grounds they are really British and have allegedly been serving Britain's interests.

Former allies of Mr Mugabe - such as Moses Mvenge, a founder member of the ruling party and its chief whip in parliament until the election - have no doubt what the man they once supported has become.

"I have never seen a country where one arm of government, the executive, goes all out to discredit another arm, the judiciary. It really is becoming a dictatorship because one man thinks he can make every decision and ignore every other arm of government," he said. 

 

MUGABE AND THE ECONOMY OF ZIMBABWE  

The country was forced to abandon its own currency at a rate of Z$35 quadrillion to US$1.

It appears that Mr Mugabe wants to deflect attention from Zimbabwe's economic crisis, especially worsening unemployment and the closure of firms, our correspondent says.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has called on the country's remaining white farmers to cede land to black people.

"We say no to whites owning our land and they should go," Mr Mugabe told his supporters at a rally.

The white farmers union said it was regrettable that racial tensions were flaring up again. 

The president's critics say his policy of seizing most of Zimbabwe's white-owned farms caused the country's economic collapse from 2000-2009.

Mr Mugabe, 90, has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

He was re-elected president last year with 61% of the vote, defeating his long-standing rival Morgan Tsvangirai. 

The president's Zanu-PF party also gained a parliamentary majority of more than two-thirds, winning 160 of the 210 seats.

 Zimbabwe analyst Stanley Kwenda says Mr Mugabe's comments are surprising, as the government officially ended its land reform programme about two years ago. 

It appears that Mr Mugabe wants to deflect attention from Zimbabwe's economic crisis, especially worsening unemployment and the closure of firms, our correspondent says. 

'Disturbance

AFRICA: MODELS SPEAK OUT AGAINST EXPLOITATION IN THE BEAUTY PAGEANT WORLD

Miss Fashion Week Africa (MFWA) is the latest example of a beauty pageant in Africa that got away with holding winnings from their pageants who won.

Kamwine Rossete former MISS FASHION WEEK EAST AFRICA (MFWA),According to Kawmine Rosette, they are calling upon the new contestants to withdraw from the pageant to avoid wasting their time becoming subjects of an exploitation.

  Does beauty empower or exploit?

It is a known fact that African models do not have it easy in the modelling industry. Why is that African models always have to work twice as hard to get only half of the reward in comparison to models from other continents and ethnic backgrounds? The answer to that question may be the unwelcoming nature of the beauty industry towards dark-skinned models, but we must not forget the agencies and pageants in Africa that exploit our very own.

Miss Fashion Week Africa (MFWA) is the latest example of a beauty pageant in Africa that got away with holding winnings from their pageant from the winners. In November 2016,

Almost one year ago, the Nigerian company announced Adama Jobe (Gambian), Kamwine Rosette (Ugandan), Rauna Kapoffi (Namibian) and Vanessa Kilem (Congolese) as the four winners of Miss Fashion Week Africa, a pageant which promised a cash prize of $3000, a trip round to Miami, USA and official crowning to each of the four contestants.

 

Today, after a whole year the winners of the pageant are yet to receive any of the mentioned prizes, with an exception of the trip to Miami. This is not the first-time models are given vague promises and then left without legal basis to defend themselves. The four models spent the entire year in the dark, looking for ways to communicate with the organisers of the pageant in search of ways to bring their various platforms to life. However, all efforts to communicate with the MFWA team was a complete fail which is what led to the biggest campaign of the various social media platform of the beauty queens. The models opened up about their share experience on Sunday 12^th November via Facebook Live with a large audience, the hashtag #ProtectOurGirls has been trending since.

they put forth their message whilst making it very clear that their objective is to protect the upcoming models and to break the culture of silence. According to Kawmine Rosette, they are calling upon the new contestants to withdraw from the pageant to avoid wasting their time becoming subjects of an exploitation.

The Congolese representative Vanessa Kilem who could not join the live stream emphasized through comments their common desire to prevent such exploitation and ill-treatment from occurring again in the very near future, to them it is more about saving their fellow sisters in the industry.

‘This has absolutely very little to do with the cash prize, $3000 can be easily earned in modelling gigs here and there, however, it is about the fact that beauty pageant companies think it is okay to get away with treating ladies whichever way that pleases them. Beauty Queens have dreams but these companies crush our dreams when they treat us like we do not matter’, said the Gambian representative Adama Jobe

 

                  Vanessa Kilem ‘This has absolutely very little to do with the cash prize,it is about the fact that beauty pageant companies think it is okay to get away with treating ladies whichever way that pleases them.

The Miss Fashion Week Africa Team has gone on to organize a new pageant in 2018 and already models are alarmed by the contracts they have been presented with. The new contestants are to cater for their own flight tickets and accommodation to the US, yet they are bound by very strict terms that restrict them from doing any work outside the scoop of MFWA. ‘’Our flight tickets to the US were catered for last year, however, we did not receive our winnings or any form of support to start work in our various countries. My advice would be to stay away from this pageant and any pageant with vague terms.’’ Rauna, the Namibian representative advised upcoming models to avoid falling into a dangerous  trap.

 Africa models are already struggling enough in the beauty industry, the last thing that our Melanin Queens need- are drawbacks like these ones. Do you stand with the ladies? Use the Hashtag #IstandWithTheLadies and #ProtectOurGirls to share this article.
 

Story by Adama Jobe and Kamwine Rossete 

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