A recently published health study has revealed that at least 13 brands of sachet Waragi manufactured in Uganda contain toxic metals with a capacity to cause death. According to the research conducted by Uganda and US based investigators in a California lab, brands tested showed copper in very high concentrations.
The scientific study was commissioned and conducted by Dr Olara Otunnu, the former undersecretary general of the United Nations and also former president Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party and two leading members of the academia in US State of California.
The academia team included Ochan Otim, an environmental chemist at the University of Los Angeles and Tom Juma, an environmental monitoring expert in the city of Los Angeles, assisted by five researchers from Uganda. Their findings were published in a US open source scientific journal, PLOS ONE, on February 27.
The two separate laboratory analyses were performed on 17 alcoholic gin samples collected randomly from various places in Uganda over a space of two years. The samples were subjected to intensive heating of 93 degrees centigrade for two consecutive hours before they were analyzed for concentration of heavy metals.
“Quantitatively, Copper (Cu) also had the highest concentrations recorded in any spirit brand, followed by Barium (Ba) and Manganese (Mn) which were higher than the combined levels of selenium, tin, vanadium, thallium, strontium and zinc. The lowest levels recorded were those of Lead, cobalt and molybdenum,” the study read in part.
Among the spirits sampled include Uganda Waragi, Chief Waragi, Ssalongo Gin, Bond 7 Whiskey, Royal Vodka, Brigade Gin and Kick Gin Pineapple.
Big 5 Vodka and Relax from King Albert Distilleries in Kampala, Beckham Gin, Goal Vodka and V6 Tangawizi Vodka were sampled too.
Lira-Lira spirits were singled out to be having concentrations amounts of toxic metals to a high of 95%. This surpassed the levels allowed by WHO (2,000 micrograms per liter) by almost 100%.
It also involved the use of samples of locally brewed Lira-Lira gin randomly collected from around Nsambya police barracks in Kampala, Teso bar in Lira Town, Awere and Bolo trading centres in Omoro district in northern Uganda alongside 13 samples of gins blended and packaged in sachets of 100-millilitre quantities each.
