The proposed creation of the Kenya Food and Drug Authority will end up duplicating duties among government agencies, the pharmaceutical society has said.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya said that regulation of foods and drugs could not be condensed into one body because it would not have the capacity to regulate over 36 functions being done by different state agencies.
The group called for a Bill, already in the National Assembly, seeking to create KFDA to be done away with.
The move comes a week after a media exposé showed that some supermarkets were using preservatives to prolong shelf life for meat, milk and vegetables.
According to the society’s CEO Daniella Munene, the proposal to merge regulation of foods and drugs under one authority made of 10-15 members drawn from both sectors was unwelcome.
Munene said in the proposal, regulation of food will start from farm produce to the food eaten.
“It will also include animal feeds as well as public health regulation and this is not right for the market in its current form,” she said.
She noted that the authority will have 18 functions covering the food sector and 18 others covering the health sector.
“These are functions that are currently carried out by over six boards including AFA, Kenya Veterinary Board, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Kenya Dairy Board, Kenya Public Health Board, National Bio-safety Authority and Kenya Bureau of Standards,”
Munene said the Ministry of Agriculture should set up its own Kenya Food Safety Authority that would ensure consumer safety of food and promote the domestic and international trade of food products produced in Kenya.
“Even Tanzania which had just recently adopted a similar strategy using their TFDA has decided to disband the two after realising that it compromised their quality of foods,” she said.
The Bill provides for the establishment of the authority to among others regulate and monitor the manufacture, processing, distribution, warehousing, wholesale and importation of food in Kenya.
The authority will also provide scientific advice and technical support to the national government and the county governments in matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing on food safety and nutrition.
(edited by O. Owino)
