On July 14th 2019, NTV aired a feature titled Red Alert, which revealed that Kenyan supermarkets and retail outlets were using sodium metabisulfite to increase the shelf life of meat products by making them look fresher for longer, so as to prevent losses. They were also found to repackage these products and change the dates so as to dupe their customers into buying these products past their sell-by date. The conversation that arose after was intense, pointing out that supermarkets were using excess quantities of the compound, without disclosing it to consumers, which was exacerbated by changing the dates on products to deceive customers.

This is not the first time we have had widespread panic and anxiety over food in Kenya. We have had reports of sukuma wiki and spinach being grown next to sewers and being toxic and containing heavy metals, water containing microplastics, chicken being fattened using antibiotics, formalin being used to preserve meat, maize with aflatoxin, sugar containing mercury, and fruits being ripened using calcium carbide. This is in addition to pesticide use in farm products that elicits the same concerns. We’re joined by Wanjiru Kamau, an agricultural and environmental policy expert, to discuss food safety in general in Kenya.

Resources

The Kenya Food and Drugs Authority Bill (2019)

Kenya National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (2015 - 2020)

Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)

Pest Control Products Board (PCPB)

Dietary risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Kenya: findings of the STEPS survey, 2015

Food safety and quality management in Kenya: An overview of the roles played by various stakeholders

Food Safety in Kenya: Focus on fruits and vegetables

SBS Senior Lecturer Publishes Case Study on Food Safety Concerns in Kenya

Why food safety is a major national issue

Lifestyle Diseases: An Increasing Cause Of Health Loss

Heavy Metal Concentration in Vegetables Grown around Dumpsites in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Episode 107: Food Safety in Kenya