The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has dismissed reports indicating that it has suspended ten brands of edible oil and fats.
In a statement dated September 24, KEBS flagged news stories from some local outlets in the country as fake.
The reports claimed that the Bureau had suspended the oil and fats since they failed to fulfill the acceptable health standards.
The ten brands included: Fresh Fri, Fresh Fri with Garlic Oil, Fry Mate, Bahari Fry, Gold and Pure Olive Gold, Postman, Rina, Salit, Tilly, and Top Fry.
Fake Reports
There were reports that KEBS Director for Market Surveillance Peter Kaigwara had written a letter to the Retail Traders Association of Kenya (RETRAK) with the mentioned communication.
Additionally, the reports claimed that KEBS had not banned the 10 brands, instead, it placed a temporary suspension.
This according to the reports was to facilitate consumer protection from potentially harmful products and to protect producers’ economic interests.
These reports also claimed that the Bureau had asked RETRAK to ensure that the products are taken off the shelves in all outlets until compliance has been achieved.
KEBS MD Revelation
This comes days after KEBS managing director Esther Ngari told the Senate Committee on Trade and Industrialization that Kenyans might be consuming cooking oil deemed unfit for human consumption.
Ngari said the oil was shipped into the country between May 2023 and November 2023 to stabilize prices.
The Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) contracted four companies to import goods worth Ksh6 billion from Malaysia accompanied by a certificate of conformity to Kenyan standards.
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Ngari said the 73 consignments of edible cooking oil entered the country each with a Certificate of Conformity (CoC).
However, out of the whole consignment, 44 consignments were approved in the KEBS Import Management System (KIMS), while 23 consignments have yet to be declared or entered by the importer (clearing agent) to Customs.
Quality Questions
The MD said tests on eight samples from 44 cleared consignments revealed that they did not meet local quality standards.
This accounts for 5.88 million liters of the 21 million liters of edible oil imported into the country.
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“Samples of edible oil were taken from the consignments for testing according to the requirements of KS EAS 769:2019, the Kenya standard specification for fortified edible oils and fats,” Ngari said.
“Of the eight consignments tested, seven failed in vitamin A content, and one consignment failed both in vitamin A and insoluble impurities.”
She informed the Senate that KEBS had requested KNTC to either destroy or return the substandard oil but 36 other consignments, totaling 32 million liters were reportedly missing from the KNTC warehouse while still awaiting KEBS approval.
Ngari emphasized that the Bureau does not have the authority to prevent the sale of these 36 consignments.
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