The government of Kenya is crafting a draft Food Safety Bill that seeks to address emerging gaps in food safety concerns for consumers in the country.
The draft is being done by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and once finalized, it will give relevant authorities in both the national and county governments the mandate to conduct random tests on various food products in the market with an aim of reducing increasing cases of food poisoning in the market.
Ministry of Health Director General Dr. Patrick Amoth, who confirmed the report said the bill will also provide a leeway for authorities to establish the source of products and farm produce in the market by traders.
Health threats
Amoth said the ministry is concerned about the increasing cases of drug residues in livestock as well as high chemical content in farm products which posed a great health danger to consumers. He said the bill would also empower counties to supervise and conduct tests on food samples both in the market and eateries with the aim of shielding consumers from harmful products.
“Kenya faces complex health threats that include endemic zoonosis, emerging and re-emerging zoonosis, antimicrobial resistance and food safety issues. Zoonotic diseases are those passed from an animal/insect to a human. a multi-sectoral, one health approach is therefore necessary to address the threats at the human – animal environment interface to ensure ministries, agencies at both national and county level interact regularly to support preparedness for health challenges and threats to achieve better health for Kenyans,” said Amoth.
He added that there’s need for a joint collaboration between the relevant health departments and the department of veterinary services to address cases of drug residue in products. According to the Director of Veterinary Services at Agriculture Ministry Dr. Harry Oyas, early warning systems are needed in order to detect emerging diseases early before they caused more havoc to humans.
