On Monday, Kenya launched 37 standards that will guide the agricultural sector to promote food safety.
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Rebecca Miano, the cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Trade, Investments and Industry, said in an official statement that in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi the approved standards cover a wide range of food products, including sugar, chicken, tea, meat, spices, rice, milk, and wheat products.
"The standards will ensure that Kenyan households only consume food that is fit for human consumption," Miano said during the celebration of World Standards Day, whose theme focused on improving health and the national economy through standards.
According to Juma Mukhwana, the principal secretary for the State Department of Industry, the standards prescribe the maximum levels of acid value for processed animal and vegetable fats and oils that are intended for human consumption.
Furthermore, he said that the standards also include the methods that will be utilized by food inspectors for sensory analysis in order to determine the shelf life of dairy products.
“We need to further efforts in ensuring that sectors such as healthcare and nutrition have robust standards. Stringent measures ensure the safety of medical devices, notably syringes, directly impacting the reduction of disease spread,” Mukhwana said.
He said the standards are aimed at ensuring that agro processed foods in Kenya meet international food standards so that they can be exported to the rest of the world.
"We have about 10 thousand standards in the market, yet only 10 percent of them are functional and being used across various sectors. This call to action, either to replace them or revitalize them to fit the current environment," Mukhwana said.