Tupike, Pembe Among 27 “Substandard” Maize Flour Brands Banned by Kebs

Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has banned the sale of 27 maize meal and flour brands.

In a statement, the agency warned Kenyans against purchasing the brands as they do not meet the standards hence poisonous.

This was following a market surveillance and multiple reports from the public, said Kebs.

Kebs directed the manufacturers of the banned brands to recall their products from shelves.

Read: Kebs Approves 40 New Information and Cyber Security Standards

“Consequently, the manufacturers in the list are instructed to cease forthwith manufacturing or offering for sale the affected maize meal and composite flour brands; and are instructed to recall all the substandard composite flour products from the market and institute effective corrective actions whose effectiveness shall be confirmed by KEBS before resumption of production and placement of the brands in the market,” said Kebs.

The brands include; Pembe, Budget, Equatorial Ugali Afya, Fahali and Family. Also in the list are Riri, Sima tamu, Tupike, Ugali Bora, Ziwa, Uwezo and Unga Sawa.

“KEBS wishes to notify the public that the below listed maize meal and composite flour brands have not complied with the requirements and therefore should not be sold to the public until further notice and the necessary corrective actions have been undertaken by the concerned parties,” the agency said.

“KEBS conducts factory inspections, product certifications and market surveillance activities to monitor the quality of products sold to Kenyans at varied points of sale to give an assurance to the public on the status of the products they buy. As part of product certification scheme, KEBS issues standardization mark (S-Mark) permits to manufacturers for products whose compliance to standards have been ascertained. In addition, KEBS also collects samples from the market to ensure that the products placed in the market by the operators have adhered to the requirements on the S-Mark and by extension, the relevant standard.”

In January last year, the agency ordered for the withdrawal of 17 maize meal brands from the market.

Then, the bureau said the brands contained high levels of aflatoxin hence unsafe for human consumption.

They included; African King, Unique, MLO, City Corn, Sarafina, Tosha, Shiba, Hakika Best, Budget, Wema, Jomba, Adardere Mupa, Afya, Uzima, Tetema and Dola.

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