1. Benefits of UNBS Certification (Why Certification?)
i) The mark guides consumers to products that conform to UNBS Standards
ii) Through the mark, products gain customer satisfaction and trust
iii) The mark is a marketing tool for producers hence increasing sales
iv) The mark a way of constructing conventional trade structures that facilitate exportation and importation
v) The mark encourages continuous development & improvement of the product through corrective action
vi) The mark qualifies establishments to win local and international awards due to universal acceptance
vii) The mark enhances the name and reputation of establishments, locally, regionally and internationally
viii) The mark supports the National Economy, increasing competition in the local and international markets
2. Requirements for Registration for Product Certification (Quality Mark)
i) Tax Identification Number (TIN)
ii) Electronic Mail Address (E-Mail Address)
iii) Certificate of Incorporation (Soft Copy)
iv) Product Process Flow Chart (Soft Copy)
v) Product Label and Markings (Soft Copy)
vi) Certificate of Analysis for the Product (Soft Copy) N.B. This is optional
3. Application for the Quality Mark (Q Mark)
i) Log on to https://cims.unbs.go.ug
ii) Create an Account (Names of Contact Person & Company Name, TIN & E-mail)
iii) Log in with the Password is sent to the E-mail
iv) Click on Application and then New Application
v) Under Product information, select product standard, name of the Product and various brands under it
vi) Under Client information, fill in Company name, registration number, TIN, Office & Factory address,
Contacts, E-mail, Name of Business owner, Number of Employees, Details of Quality Control Manager,
Actual & Installed Capacity and Annual Turnover
vii) Under List of Raw Materials & Ingredients, name the Raw Materials and area of acquisition and Supplier
viii) Under Quality Control Checks, state the Raw Material, the Check and Nature of Records kept
ix) Under attachments, upload Certificate of Business Registration (URSB), Product Process Flow Chart,
Product Label and Markings and or Certificate of Analysis for Product, then Submit.
x) Repeat the steps from IV above, for each Product (and brands under the Product) to be certified
4. Purchase of UNBS Standards
i) Log on to https://webstore.unbs.go.ug
ii) Create an Account (Names of Contact Person & Company Name, TIN & E-mail, Password & TIN)
iii) Select Business Category e.g. Food and Agriculture for the required Standards
iv) Search Product Specification Standard e.g. US 62:2011 for Fruit Juice Specification and Select
v) Search Code of Practice for Hygiene Standard e.g. US 28:2002 for Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry and Select
vi) The two selected standards will appear in the “Shopping Cart”, click
vii) After Placing the Order for Purchase of Standards, Log onto https://www.ura.go.ug
viii) Generate a Payment Registration Slip (PRS) and then Pay for the Standards either through Mobile Money or through any Bank of your choice using the PRN. Minimum Cost per Standards is UGX 15,000/= (Twenty Thousand Shillings Only)
ix) After Purchase of the Standards, the USSIA UNBS Standards Facilitators will visit you at your Production plant and start preparing you for the UNBS Audit.
5. Audit Fees
i) After submission of the application for the Quality Mark, it will be assigned to a UNBS Officer for review
ii) If not successful, the application will be rejected and you will be notified. If successful, still you will be notified and an Invoice for Certification fees and Testing fees will be sent to your E-mail.
iii) Certification Fees will be UGX 500,000/= (Five Hundred Thousand Shillings Only) for each Product to be Certified, however, the testing fees will vary from one product (brand) to another.
iv) Still, you Log onto https://www.ura.go.ug, generate a PRS for each of the Testing and Audit Fees separately and then make the payment using the Payment Registration Number (PRN), either through Mobile Money or the Bank of your choice.
6. Audit Plan
i) Once the payments have been made and confirmed by the UNBS, an Audit Plan is shared with you i.e. the date of the Audit and names of the Auditors that will be conducting the Audit.
ii) At this point, the USSIA UNBS Standard Facilitators intensify the drills with the applicant for the Mark, a surprise check is made by the facilitators, just before the UNBS Audit itself.
7. Audit Process
i) Where the Audit date was agreed upon by UNBS and the applicant, Auditors are sent to the manufacturing premises and mainly cover various areas and described below. At the completion of the Audit, a sample of each of the Product brand for which the Q mark was applied is taken for analysis at the UNBS labs for Testing and Analysis
ii) Food Chain Controls and Practices. These are controls put in place and practices adopted by the producer from the point of entry of raw materials, through production and output to ensure that safety and quality requirements are adhered to e.g. testing of raw materials for heavy metals before production begins.
iii) Labeling, Traceability and Recall Procedures. These are procedures to ensure that all relevant information about a product e.g. source of raw materials, storage methods, production techniques, handling, packaging, batch etc. are recorded to ensure that errors can be detected in case of queries.
iv) Finished Products Analysis and Checks. This refers to the sampling techniques that are carried out on the final product to ensure adherence to quality standards and establish whether the product is safe for consumption.
v) Corrective Action. This refers to indicators within the manufacturing process based on the quality of the final product, suggesting that there is need for improvement. This may be in form of poor taste, poor packaging and labeling etc. that warrants the correction itself.
vi) Documentation Requirements. Various steps and routine activities in the production process should be documented for reference purposes and to ensure consistent output e.g. raw material acceptability criteria, cleaning schedule, the product formulations, staff health records etc.
vii) Pest Control. These are methods put in place by the producer to avoid infestation and contamination of raw materials and final products by pests such as rodents, cockroaches etc. Such methods may be physical or biological but it’s not advisable to implore chemical methods specifically in the Food and Drinks processing plant because it may lead to poisoning of the final products
viii) Staff Training. Staff should be trained more regularly to increase their awareness and capacity in carrying out the production activities. They should be trained on the hygiene and safety requirements as well as the standards in general e.g. sanitizing their hands when touching food materials.
ix) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP). GMPs are defined as the quality measures in the production process while GHPs refers to all practices regarding conditions and measures to ensure safety and suitability of the final product at all stages of the food chain. Examples include: acceptability criteria of raw materials, storage methods, labelling, packaging, sampling, weighing etc.
8. Sharing Reports
i) If not successful, the enterprise is given Non Conformity Forms (NCF) showing areas that require improvement for corrective action. If corrected, the Form is filled and proof of correction is as well attached on the Form e.g. Explanation and or Pictures.
ii) If successful, an Audit Report and Lab Report (Certificate of Analysis) are shared with the enterprise.
9. Certification
i) A double payment of the testing fees is pre payment for the surveillance test that will be done within the next valid period of certification.
ii) Note that all UNBS payments are made using the PRS from the URA portal through either the Bank or Mobile Money as previously explained above.
iii) Finally, a Q Mark is granted to the applicant for ONLY those Products applied for!
