Not safe for consumption: KEBS Flags Govt KSh 17b Edible Oil Imported to Lower Prices

 

Kenyans face the risk of consuming contaminated cooking oil from the market. KEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari speaking at a past event. Photo: @EstherNgari11. Source: Twitter Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) flagged the KSh 17 billion edible oil imported by the government over contamination. What made imported edible oil unfit for consumption? Fresh details indicated that a letter dated September 5, 2023, from KEBS to the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) detailed that the 125,000 metric tonnes of cooking oil imported by the state entity was unfit for human consumption. “The consignments number 23MBAIM402473344, 23MBAIM403321628, and 23MBAIM403235943 have been rejected, and KNTC is hereby advised to reship them back to the country of origin within 30 days from the date of this letter, failure to which they shall be destroyed," read KEBS letter in part. The standard body noted that the consignments did not have the required content rate of Vitamin A and Insoluble Impurities. It further explained that fat content exceeded the required amount of 99.5 by 0.47% to read 99.97. The acid value of the edible oils had an amount of potassium hydroxide at 0.12 milligrams as opposed to the standard of 0.6. KEBS also found that the imported oil contained 0.04 insoluble impurities, as opposed to the required standard of 0.05. In November 2023, KNTC reached out to local cooking oil manufacturing companies to help process the final product. Details emerged showing that the corporation required extra cost to process cooking oil worth KSh 25 billion. Last week, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) held some officers linked to the controversial oil import for questioning. The officers included KNTC Managing Director Pamela Mutua, who insisted that the oil was meant to stabilise prices, Business Daily reported. Where is the imported cooking oil? This followed reports that KSh 9.3 billion edible oil, at the centre of an importation controversy, cannot be accounted for in the KNTC warehouses. The Senate Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism, chaired by Senator Lenku Seki, noted discrepancies between the submissions presented by the Ministry of Trade and the KNTC. According to a report by Parliament, the Trade Committee's efforts to unravel the mystery did not bear fruit as Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry Rebecca Miano failed to turn up for a meeting.

by  Wycliffe Musalia