Kebs bans 17 maize flour brands over high aflatoxin levels
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) on Thursday banned 17 maize flour brands, saying their aflatoxin levels were higher than the maximum limit, going by Kenya’s standards.
The 17 are African King, Unique, Mlo, City Corn, Sarafina, Tosha, Shiba, Hakika Best, Budget and Wema. Other are Jomba, Adardere Mupa, Afya, Uzima, Tetema and Dola.
Kebs, in a statement, requested the products to be removed from shops’ shelves.
“Kindly communicate through email giving the quantities and the brand names being held. We will make arrangements to collect them,” the statement read in part.
In November, Kebs banned five maize flour brands, saying their aflatoxin levels were higher than the maximum limit.
The five were Dola by by Eldoret Grain Millers which has also been affected, Kifaru by Alpha Grain Limited, Starehe by Pan African Grain Millers, 210 Two Ten by Kenblest Limited and Jembe by Kensal Rise Limited.
Kebs said the ban followed market surveillance and multiple reports from the public.
The bureau further announced that it had seized some of the banned products and instructed supermarkets countrywide to get rid of them.
It said substandard products found on sale will be seized for destruction at the expense of the owner and that legal consequences will follow.