Food safety concerns: What next for the Kenyan consumer?

Despite the existence of the Kenya Bureau of Standards which is the National Codex Contact Point, a lot of food in the Kenyan market is substandard.

A series of investigations into the food in the Kenyan market has resulted in numerous exposes that has caused a lot of stir in the country.

First, it was meat laced with chemicals in our supermarkets and then came the peanut butter, high level of chemical presence in our vegetables licked sewages in city’s tap water and now it has come to the staple food of the majority Kenyans, Ugali.

The monitoring agencies are extremely becoming reactionary. Why have they allowed such messes to continue for this long yet they are being paid for the job? It is high time the government became active and cracked the whip on lax officials.

Outraged Kenyans are raising concerns on the rise of chemical-laced foods and whether they are safe eating anything anymore.

Which one is better dying of hunger or slowly dying eating poisonous food?

The thought of consuming poison as food without knowing has got people scared of buying food even from their most trusted ‘mama mboga’.

Kenyans have become cautious of the food they consume due to numerous cases of food poisoning, linkage with cancer-causing organisms and general safety of food.

Early in 2019, the World Health Organisation estimated that 91 million people in Africa fall ill from consuming contaminated food every year and 137,000 die as a result.

The global health agency stressed on the need to adapt food control systems to meet changing needs for better protection of public health.   

WHO representative to Kenya Rudi Eggers in October called on nations to strengthen measures to improve food safety.

The economic costs of food-related illnesses and deaths are estimated at $95.2 billion in lost productivity and $15 billion in medical expenses in low and middle-income countries.

Situation at hand

 This year has seen a lot of exposes that have put to light just how much food in Kenya has been compromised.

Early this year, there has been controversy on the quality of sugar in the country.

The Government Chemist presented a report showing some samples of the sugar used by Kenyans contained high levels of mercury.

Another course of alarm was raised when an expose aired on a local TV station revealed how major Supermarkets use toxic chemicals to preserve meat.

Many outraged Kenyans vowed to boycott supermarket meat after they learned that a chemical (sodium metabisulphite) is the secret behind the ever-fresh looking meat.

Allegedly, these supermarkets go to high lengths of changing labels of expiry dates on their meat to make sales.

If that’s not all, intensive testing of vegetables from the city’s food market and two other supermarkets found high levels of mercury and lead.

Apparently how these chemicals wind up in the greens is through the sewage water used during irrigation.

Cancer

Cancer specialists have linked the pandemic to lifestyle and specifically in the bad diet choices.

Kenya has been mapped as an aflatoxin hotspot, a leading cause of liver cancer, hiding in grains like maize and animal food products.

Findings of a study released early this year by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) showed a large amount of milk and grains consumed by Kenyans have aflatoxin levels exceeding internationally accepted limit.

The government estimated that the number of people who get diagnosed with cancer annually to be at 47,000.

Out of this, 33,000 die every year.

The numbers are swiftly increasing and doctors have attributed it to bad food quality and eating habits.

In November this year, KEBS suspended major maize flour brands after they failed the aflatoxin test.

The Bureau later lifted the suspension after ‘they carried out corrective measures ‘which had caused them to be withdrawn from shelves.

Some studies also suggest that aflatoxin could impair the development of an unborn baby in the womb.

Damage and damage control

From the data revealed in the exposes, a lot of food in the country is unfit for consumption.

It makes one wonder how many other toxic feeds are yet to be exposed.

Something as healthy as a mango might be a carrier of one or more cancerous chemicals. So what really remains to be done to ensure food safety and quality in the country?

In a report by the World Health Organization, WHO recommended ways in which stakeholders in the food supply chain can play different roles in detecting and responding to public health threats associated with unsafe food.

According to WHO, each player at every level has to apply good practices which will ascertain food safety and quality.

The organization insists that food safety originates from farmers’ choices. The ability to select the best seeds, crop and pest control systems as well as the general application of Good Agricultural Practices.

Consumers who double up as retailers, participate in the food chain system by proper selection, storage preparation and just being accountable always.

WHO says, the government through KBS should ensure only quality food gets released in the market.

They should be able to prevent the accumulation of toxic preservatives through availing other safe alternatives to retailers.

Through the public health office, frequent inspection of food handlers will go a long way.