Kenya to step up adherence to food safety standards

Implementing sanitary and phytosanitary (food safety) standards will keep Kenya's food exports competitive in the face of non-tariff barriers, a senior government official has said.

Enacting them will ensure that the food products targeted for both export and local consumption also meet agreements of the World Trade Organisation Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO-TBT) for hygienic food processing practices, said Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary David Nalo.

"Poor quality of food destroys the commercial credibility of suppliers. Countries have to implement the standards to create confidence among consumers," he noted. He was speaking during a workshop under the National Codex Committee to brief stakeholders on the rules. It was attended by manufacturers, exporters and traders and was sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Committee aims to develop action points in handling the standardization and quality assurance of food products for sale. The Kenya Bureau of Standards is the National Codex focal point and has facilitated the formation of an executive committee to coordinate policy dealing with food safety. The Codex Alimentarius system, a global reference point for consumers and food producers, sets the WTO standards against which national regulations are bench marked.

"There is a need to set up conformity assessment activities such as testing, inspection, certification and accreditation to bring equivalences and facilitate trade across the boarders," said Mr. Nalo.

Lack of internationally accredited standards for Kenyan products has been a major setback for the country, resulting in trade bans and warnings. This has been compounded by occasional outbreaks of food-borne illnesses which have periodically delayed international trade agreements.

The country's fishing industry was on the spot in January 1998, following a ban by the European Union (later lifted) on fresh fish imports from Kenya during a cholera outbreak in parts of Nyanza province. The outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever earlier this year also dealt a blow to meat exports. Tea and coffee, however, are yet to be affected by such bans.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards has been providing quality assurance services through the provision of food safety measures ISO 22000:2005, a communication and risk assessment that details key aspects of food chain from the farm to the table.

Daily Nation