Consumer organisations have asked Health CS Sicily Kariuki to take action on reports that supermarkets use illegal additives and chemicals to prolong the shelf life of foods.
The organisations want Kariuki to tell Kenyans what measures the ministry is putting in place to protect the health of citizens.
Addressing the press on Thursday, Daniel Asher, the programme officer at Consumer Unity and Trust Society, said food safety should be a top government priority.
“It is not easy for an ordinary Kenyan to differentiate counterfeit and genuine products in the Kenyan market,” Asher said.
He noted that as a result, there has been increased hospital visits by Kenyans due to food borne illnesses.
“Food inspection by public health officers is not done thoroughly and in cases where vendors fail the inspection requirements, officers are bribed by vendors resulting in contaminated foods sold in the market.”
The officials said there is an increase in noncompliance with food safety regulations and standards by food vendors due to poor enforcement.
They want the CS to move with speed and fast track the process of establishing a food safety authority.
They said there are too many agencies dealing with food safety.
“This fragmentation leads to laxity among the responsible agencies and as a result consumers are exposed to unsafe food,” he noted.
Consumer Downtown Association said they have information on which supermarkets have been adding chemicals to foods.
“There is a lot of meat in stock, so they try to make it stay longer. This is rampant in supermarkets because they don't have a big customer turnover,” Samuel Ochieng from Consumer Information Network said.
The CS in a statement on Tuesday said the ministry had collected samples from various outlets for analysis at the National Public Health labs.
The government has confirmed that the chemical Sodium Metabisulfite used in food preservation is permitted for use in specified food categories.
It has further directed all county public health departments to undertake heightened surveillance in all supermarkets, butcheries, meat processors and other food operators to ascertain any presence of additives not permitted for use in meat and meat products.
The state added that the results will be shared publicly once they are out.
The Law Society of Kenya has demanded immediate actions on supermarkets that use illegal and harmful chemicals to preserve meat.
In a letter to the CS, the Kenya Bureau of Standards managing director and the Council of Governors chairman, the LSK’s chief executive Mercy Wambua said steps should be taken to ensure harmful food is not sold in supermarkets.
