Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has reiterated government commitment in ensuring safety of consumers of various products in the County.
Speaking during a press briefing on the state of the sugar industry, the CS said the Government is committed to enabling a fair trading environment to spur the growth of local industries in a bid to enhance the country’s economy.
Munya noted that KEBS had carried out testing of fertilizer samples of 1,125 containers imported through various entry points. According to the CS 170 containers complied with the set standards and have been released to owners.
Three hundred and sixty one (361) containers failed the test with 594 containers yet to be tested.
The CS said all those products that failed the test will be shipped back to countries of origin within 30 days failure to which the products will be destroyed at the importers cost.
68.8% of the sugar samples drawn from 45 counties across the country have passed the KEBS quality test while 31.1% failed in various parameters, including moisture content, yeast and moulds, color, and polarization.
According to CS Munya, officers drawn from KEBS and other agencies have also seized 188 bags of rice in Nairobi and another 200 bags in Mombasa. The rice that was in 25kgs bags was being repackaged into new bags with extended expiry dates.
The CS called for increased screening and relentless market surveillance at all entry points in the country to protect Kenyans from the harmful products.
Speaking separately, Deputy Head of Public Service Mulongo Musiambo has revealed that 3 lorries with 36 tons of suspected contraband sugar from Somalia have been seized in Wajir as suspected contraband cigarettes worth close to Sh. 52 million from Sudan were nabbed in Lokichogio, Turkana.
Musiambo has called on members of the public to help the government’s war on contraband goods by reporting any suspicious activities to authorities.
