This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
On November 9, 2019, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) suspended the licenses of five maize millers over high aflatoxin levels in their products.
The affected companies are Kitui Four Mills, Alpha Grain Limited, Pan African Grain Millers, Kenblest Limited, and Kensal Rise Limited.
The ban was issued after market surveillance and multiple reports from the public indicated that the products exceeded the maximum allowed aflatoxin levels of 10 parts per billion (ppb).
However, the millers have disputed the test results, claiming that their internal audits and external laboratory tests showed different results.
Kitui Four Mills' General Manager, Abdalla Said, stated that the unilateral finding by Kebs cannot be relied upon, as the results differ based on the laboratories used.
He also noted that independent tests showed an acceptable aflatoxin level of 1.5 ppb in their product, which is below the maximum limit set by Kenya's standards.
The Cereal Millers Association has also decried the ban, stating that it does not understand the laboratory parameters used by Kebs to test the affected brands.
The association's chairperson, Mohamed Islam, said that test results for aflatoxins differ from laboratory to laboratory and that they would like to take time to understand Kebs' methodology of testing for aflatoxins.
