This archive report was first published on 4 May 2021.
On May 4, 2021, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) took a significant step towards ensuring the safety and quality of food products in the market by adopting five new standards.
According to Ltd. Col. (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini, Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, the newly approved standards will provide a basis to ascertain the quality, purity, and safety of food additives, which is crucial for safe use as guided by the General Standard for Food additives.
The demand for food additives has increased within the food industry, creating a need for specifications to be formulated for commonly used additives to determine their quality and safety.
These new standards are the first in the priority list for food additives based on volume of use both in Kenya and the East Africa region, thus facilitating trade.
The standards provide the criteria to determine the purity, safety, and quality parameters for baker's yeast, sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, and baking powder.
Food additives will also be produced, prepared, and handled in accordance with the code of practice for hygiene in the food industry, which lays emphasis on both Good Manufacturing Practice and the use of food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).
