KEBS Addresses Public Concerns: Ensuring Safe Products in Stores
Esther Ngari, the acting managing director of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), allayed fears on Friday, May 19, that items on supermarket and store shelves were unsafe for human consumption.
In a statement to the media, Ngari reassured Kenyans that the Bureau had increased its surveillance to ensure that all products reaching store shelves meet the necessary standards.
Among the measures adopted by the Bureau was an increase in professionalism and integrity to ensure that some KEBS employees do not release condemned goods to the public.
Because Kenyans rely on the Kenya Bureau of Standards to ensure that we provide them with safe and reliable products. Therefore, high integrity in all areas of operation is of paramount importance, as Ngari stated.
Ngari added that the authority had increased testing to ensure that only safe products are permitted on the market.
“We have always ensured that we are on time to test whatever is on the market and going to our consumers because, at the end of the day, we must protect them,” she continued.
Jeremiah Kinyua, chairman of the National Standards Council, stated that in addition to expanding operations, KEBS was planning to increase the number of testing laboratories.
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Kinyua also reassured Kenyans that KEBS had devised a plan to trace some of the retail-bound goods.
Kinyua insisted, “The assurance we have given the bureau is that accredited laboratories will support the economic system by ensuring that the money you pay is commensurate with the quality of the goods we purchase.”
The KEBS assurance to Kenyans followed the release of defective sugar onto the market.
To rectify the situation, President William Ruto suspended 27 officials, including KEBS director Bernard Njiriani.
“Given the unique mission of the agencies as guardians of public health and safety, it is evident that some officers in the relevant agencies abdicated their responsibilities, putting the public at risk of harm.
“Consequently, it is noted that the Cabinet Secretaries for National Treasury and Economic Planning, as well as Investments, Trade, and Industry, have sanctioned administrative action to suspend the officers pending investigations,” Ruto’s Chief of Staff Felix Koskei stated.
In 2018, KEBS condemned the importation of 20,000 bags of sugar (each weighing 50 kilograms).
KEBS Addresses Public Concerns: Ensuring Safe Products in Stores
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