Nairobi, Kenya The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has refuted claims doing rounds in the media that poisonous cooking oil was imported into the country.
In a statement, the bureau assured Kenyans of its commitment to ensuring the safety and quality of all local and imported products in the country.
“As regards to the edible oil, KEBs has sampled, re-inspected, and tested the edible oils imported by Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC). From the tests done, the edible oil complied with all the health and safety parameters applicable to Kenya Standard (KS EAS 769:2019),” said the bureau.
It added that “However, the sampled edible oils did not meet the vitamin A levels specified in the Kenyan Standard. This is not a health and safety parameter.”
Edible cooking oil saga
Earlier this month, KEBS flagged the edible cooking oil from Malaysia saying it was unfit for human consumption, with concerns about its fat content and insoluble impurities.
This led to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) questioning (Kenya National Trading Corporation) KNTC officials over the importation of edible oil from Malaysia.
KEBS now says the imported cooking oil is safe for consumption after re-inspecting the samples.
Testing of imports
According to KEBS, products coming into Kenya undergo the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to assess their quality.
The conformity programme is done at the exporting country to guarantee that imported products adhere to Kenyan Technical Regulations, mandatory standards, or approved specifications.
The bureau explains that PVoC ensures that imported products meet the required standards before entering the Kenyan market, safeguarding consumer safety and promoting fair trade practices.
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