Kenyans health at risk as State agencies falter on food safety

The lid has been lifted on the food majority of Kenyans are eating and the broth is not something to be happy about. In fact, the millions of sufurias in most Kenyan homes have been found to contain hazardous compounds due to a multiplicity of factors.

Key among them is poor handling of food, conniving regulatory and safety agencies, vested interests and greedy traders out to make quick money. This has been happening in the full glare of government bodies mandated to ensure quality of food right from production to the dining table. In a damning report published elsewhere in this newspaper, we reveal how turf wars among state agents have exposed Kenyans to unsafe food.

The list is long -- from contaminated sugar, poor quality cooking oil, aflatoxin infested maize to low standard juices, the Kenyan dining table has been hit hard for many years now. There are also unregulated food kiosks and even established hotels that do not take necessary measures to ensure food safety. Indeed, increasing cases of food poisoning have been reported where dozens have died and many others left fighting stomach upheavals. This is unacceptable in a country that boasts rule of law and regulatory agencies funded through taxpayers’ money.

It is unfortunate that uncoordinated operations and a clash of egos at the Directorate of Criminal Prosecutions, the police, the Cabinet, National Environment Management Authority and the Kenya Revenue Authority have led to importation of substandard goods. This has happened for years, and Kenyans have been taken for a dangerous ride.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards owe Kenyans an explanation for instance on the edible oil worth Sh10 billion that was impounded at the port of Mombasa. While some state agencies had cleared the consignment, others raised the alarm. This prompted a parliamentary committee to instigate a probe. Kenyans don’t know the whereabouts of contraband goods seized at the points of entry if the clash among state agencies is a pointer to what has been happening. For instance, where is the sugar that some claimed was laced with mercury? Was it returned to its origin or was it destroyed?