The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) cleared five Kenyan alcoholic beverage brands temporarily suspended by the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (Rwanda FDA), saying fresh laboratory tests have confirmed their compliance with applicable safety and quality standards.
The Rwanda FDA announced the temporary suspension of selected alcoholic beverages on August 5, 2026, among them five products manufactured in Kenya.
The affected products are Kenya King Gin and Safari Gin, manufactured by London Distillers Kenya Ltd; Avalon and Sweet Berry Potable Spirits, manufactured by Zheng Hong (K) Ltd; and Gilbey’s Gin, manufactured by Kenya Breweries Ltd.
KEBS said the products had previously undergone conformity assessment, factory inspections, market surveillance and laboratory testing and had been certified to comply with Kenyan and East African standards.
The products bear valid Standardization Marks and are certified against standards covering composition, alcohol content, methanol limits, higher alcohols, esters, volatile acids, packaging, labelling and consumer safety.
Following the Rwanda FDA announcement, KEBS said it immediately launched a comprehensive review of the affected products, examining certification records, quality assurance reports, market surveillance findings, factory inspection reports and laboratory results.
The Bureau also consulted the affected manufacturers, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), standards agencies in other East African Community Partner States and the EAC Quality Assurance and Testing Sub-committee.
KEBS said historical laboratory reports covering ethyl alcohol content, methanol, higher alcohols, esters, aldehydes and volatile acids showed that the five products had complied with the relevant standards at the time of certification and surveillance.
The standards cited include KS EAS 145:2018 on Gin Specification, KS EAS 142:2018 on Vodka Specification and KS EAS 109:2018 on Potable Spirit Specification.
As part of further verification, KEBS conducted targeted inspections of the five manufacturing facilities between August 7 and 10, 2026, and collected fresh samples for independent laboratory analysis.
The inspections covered manufacturing processes, quality management systems, process controls, product traceability, hygiene and sanitation, packaging and labelling, as well as Good Manufacturing Practices.
KEBS said the fresh laboratory tests confirmed that the five products complied with the requirements of the applicable standards, including limits relating to alcohol content, methanol, higher alcohols, esters, aldehydes and volatile acids.
The inspections also found the manufacturing facilities operating in compliance with applicable quality, safety and regulatory requirements, according to the Bureau.
KEBS further said its routine market surveillance programme in the 2024/2025 financial year had sampled and tested 69 potable spirit products available in the Kenyan market, with the sampled products found to comply with applicable standards.
The standards agency said it was engaging Rwanda FDA and other regional regulatory bodies to establish the basis for the temporary suspension and pursue a technical resolution through established EAC mechanisms.
“KEBS remains confident in the robustness of its conformity assessment systems,” the Bureau said, while reaffirming its commitment to consumer protection, fair trade and maintaining confidence in Kenyan products across the region.
The development comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of alcoholic beverages in the East African market, with standards agencies facing increasing pressure to ensure that products manufactured and traded across the region meet common safety and quality requirements.
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