By: Elijah Maingi.
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has in a letter to retailers indicated that it has withdrawn 10 cooking oils and fat brands from the market.
The government agency said it took action to protect Kenyans from consuming substandard products in the market.
“Kindly note that this is not a ban on the brands but a temporary suspension to allow the manufacturers of the non-compliant brands to initiate and put in place effective corrective action under KEBS supervision to ensure that the non-compliant brands comply with the requirements of the respective Kenya Standards and Standards Act Cap 496, Laws of Kenya before being allowed back into the market,” it said in a letter dated September 2022.
The suspension was done after KEBS performed tests on samples drawn from the oil brands and found them to be non-compliant with the respective product standard that is KS EAS 769: KS 2019 Fortified Edible Oils & Fats – Specification.
The affected brands are supposed to be removed from the shelves of all retailers to allow the manufacturers to be able to meet the standards.
The affected oil brands include
- Bahari Fry – Bidco Africa Ltd
- Fresh Fri – Pwani Oil
- Fresh Fri with Garlic – a product of Pwani Oil Ltd
- Fry Mate- another product of Pwani Oil Ltd
- Gold and Pure Olive – Bidco Africa
- Postman – Kapa Oil
- Rina – Kapa Oil
- Salit – Pwani Oil
- Tilly – Kapa Oil
- Top Fry – Menengai Oil
The standards body indicated that the affected brands are supposed to be tested first and approved before being allowed back into the market.
It is not the first time KEBs is recalling Kenyan-made goods from the market. In October 2021, it listed 14 maize flour brands that failed to meet quality standards. The standards body said it detected the said brands were non-compliant with the Standards Act after market surveillance in that month
Mt Kenya Times 
John Kamau