This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
On August 3, 2019, the government assured Kenyans that it was committed to ensuring food safety after a media exposé revealed unsafe meat being sold to unsuspecting consumers.
However, this is not the first time Kenyans have been told that some products they have been consuming have been found to contain poison.
Interior CS Matiang'i had previously informed Kenyans that the government had discovered sugar laced with copper and mercury, which is dangerous to humans. The government conducted mock raids on sugar importing industries, but the whereabouts of the impounded sugar remain unknown.
Today, the issue of safe food is not being taken seriously by the ministry of Health. Public health officials are not seen on the ground investigating food stuffs in hotels and the health status of food vendors.
The food industry appears to be largely unregulated, with consumers being fed food prepared in unhygienic environments. In many butcheries, the butcher handling meat is the same person handling dirty notes and coins, which are then passed on to consumers.
Regulation of the sale of meat is necessary, where people handling meat should not be the same person handling money. The selling of foodstuff that requires care and storage has been left in the hands of freelance hawkers, who often sell yoghurt milk at high temperatures.
The ministry of Health is spending huge sums of money on water and food contaminated diseases that can easily be prevented by ensuring the safety of food and water.
It is wrong for the ministry of Health to abscond its responsibility and only come up to issue statements after the media has come up with an exposé.
