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The Nairobian

KEBS says imported edible oil safe

Business

By David Njaaga | Dec 06, 2023

**Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) offices in Nairobi.** [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has clarified that the imported edible oil is safe for human consumption and meets the health and safety standards, despite failing to comply with the required Vitamin A levels.

In a statement on Wednesday, December 6, KEBS said that it had tested the edible oil imported by Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) and found that it complied with all the parameters of the Kenya Standard (KS EAS 769:2019) except for the vitamin A levels.

“The vitamin A level is not a health and safety parameter, and we have communicated the results to KNTC. We would like to assure the public that KEBS is committed to ensuring the safety and quality of all locally manufactured and imported products into the country,” the bureau said.

KEBS also explained that it uses Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to assess the quality of products imported into the country.

PVoC is a program that ensures imported products adhere to the applicable Kenyan technical regulations, mandatory standards, or approved specifications before entering the Kenyan market.

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KEBS said that it samples and re-inspects products accompanied by Certificates of Conformity (CoCs) at the Port of Entry as a routine.

KEBS statement comes days after it rejected some consignments of edible oil and advised the importer to reship them back to the country of origin within 30 days or face destruction.

In its letter dated September 5, addressed to the Managing Director of KNTC, KEBS said that the consignments failed to comply with vitamin A and insoluble impurities.

The letter also revealed the results of the laboratory tests conducted by KEBS on the edible oil.

The tests showed that the edible oil exceeded the required amount of fat content by 0.47 per cent by mass, contained 0.03 of moisture and matter volatile at 105°C, had an acid value of 0.12 of potassium hydroxide in milligrams, and had a peroxide value of 5.42 of oxygen per kilogram of oil.