KEBS castigated for blacklisting 27 flour brands

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 22 – Kenya Bureau of Statistics has been castigated for banning the sale of 27 flour brands on grounds that they were non-compliant with their standards.

In a statement, the Cereal Millers Association said Sunday that the bureau should have followed due process, by first reaching out to the affected millers to verify, validate results for each specific batch and resolve matters expeditiously prior to going public.

“This would have been the most effective way of dealing with the matter, ensuring that it doesn’t happen again and making sure proper recall procedures for specific batches rather than in its entirety were followed to get the products off the shelf as effectively as possible,” the millers said.

The Association also noted that some of the millers who were blacklisted are yet to be informed on why they were banned.

On Saturday, the Kenya Bureau of Standards directed manufacturers of the 27 brands to stop manufacturing and selling their products and instructed them to recall all their products from the market.

Pembe, Family, and Tupike were among the maize meal flour brands that were banned while porridge flour brands that were blacklisted include Winnies Pure Health-Ugali Afya and Golden Porridge Flour Sour Uji Mix.

The millers, who insist their products meet the required standards, said the bureau’s move had resulted in the loss of business to millers, lower consumer confidence, and reputational damage to both millers and their brands.

“Given the heavy investment made by the milling sector in this country and in order to ensure business continuity, it is in the best interest of all our millers to ensure that every attempt has been made and continues to be made to provide safe food to our consumers.”

On its part, KEBS said it is committed to working closely with the affected manufacturers to ensure that such non-compliances do not recur.

“Upon satisfactory resolution and conclusion of the issues, KEBS shall then inform the public once the products have met the requirements of the Kenya Standards,” the bureau said Saturday.