(Business in Cameroon) - Gabon’s food security agency AGASA will step up controls and health monitoring at its borders with Cameroon. This follows a release, issued on July 11, by the divisional officer of Dschang in the Western region of Cameroon, announcing a crusade against unscrupulous traders who preserve and ripen food products using formaldehyde. 

According to the AGASA, a monitoring plan will be set in place to detect formaldehyde using rapid detection kits. "This plan will consist of carrying out tests on "vegetable and fruit" products, in particular, plantain, pineapple...," announced Alia Maheva Bongo Ondimba, AGASAs Director General in a press release dated July 25, 2023. These rapid formaldehyde detection kits will be deployed at the border with Cameroon and in Libreville markets.

At the border, all products containing formaldehyde will be denied entry, while in the markets, dangerous products detected in storages or on stalls will be destroyed. "This surveillance will also be extended to other foodstuffs and products, such as fish products. These measures will be put in place to guarantee the safety and well-being of consumers," the food security agency maintains. 

Cameroon is one of Gabon's main suppliers. According to the latest sectoral report published by Gabon’s Ministry of Economy, Cameroon was the Central African country’s fifth largest supplier in the first quarter of 2023, behind France, China, Belgium, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Sandrine Gaingne