Kebs: Poor food handling costs Kenya Sh76 billion annually

A waiter at Koriema butchery in Baringo County chopping roasted goats meat gfor his customers on January 27,2023. [FILE/Standard]

Kenya is losing an estimated Sh76 billion worth of food every year due to poor handling and food safety practices, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has revealed.

As the country gears up for World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2025, under the theme 'Food Safety: Science in Action,' Kebs has issued a strong appeal to all stakeholders in the food value chain to prioritise food safety from the point of production to the consumer’s plate.

Speaking during a food safety workshop in Nairobi on Thursday, Kebs managing director Esther Ngari highlighted the critical need to address food handling practices.

“Food safety is everyone’s business,” she said. “As Kebs, we are very keen about how food is handled from the farm, through the distribution chain, all the way to the consumer’s plate.” 

This comes following recent cases of consumption of illegal brews that led to blindness and deaths, attributed to suppliers using toxic products during the industrial process.

Kebs said they are addressing the sale of such toxic substances for human consumption, a war they are fighting to win in the supply industry.

The workshop was hosted by Kebs in collaboration with retailer Carrefour to train suppliers on applicable standards for hygienic handling of food products.

Ngari said the workshop would improve healthy food distribution and quality standards.

“About 40 per cent of food is removed from the distribution chain daily on issues of unreliable food supplies to consumers but I firmly believe facilitation on the issue will have a positive outcome,” she said.

According to Kebs, poor post-harvest handling, inadequate storage, and inefficient transportation systems are the leading contributors to the huge annual food losses.

These result in food rotting in markets, being damaged during transit, or getting contaminated during processing.

“Tomatoes, for example, are highly perishable. Without proper storage or cold chain solutions, they rot before they reach consumers,” Ngari noted.

Kebs manager in charge of food standards Peter Mutua said the agency is partnering with farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers to reduce food waste and convert potential losses into profits.

“If we eliminate post-harvest food losses, we are injecting Sh76 billion into the economy,” he said. “That’s real money in the pockets of farmers, traders, and mama mbogas. This is about turning agriculture into a profitable business.”