Managers of the meat outlets are to respond to accusations such as processing, treating, labeling, packaging, food in a manner that is false and misleading/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 20 – Owners and managers of the six supermarkets whose meat sections were shut down on Thursday will appear before the Nairobi City Court next month.
Nairobi County Executive for health Mohamed Dagane said that the officials will be arrested should they miss attending the court session.
“Sermons have already been issued by the City Magistrate for them to appear in court on August 2, 2019, at exactly 9 am and anyone who fails to heed to the calling will be arrested and expected to appear in a court of law,” said Dagane.
Dagane further assured consumers that the county is committed to ensuring everyone accesses safe and secure food.
“We want to confirm to Nairobi residents that the county government of Nairobi is going to take stern action against any trader or any person not ensuring food safety in this city.
The six outlets are to respond to accusations such as processing, treating, labeling, packaging, food in a matter that is false, misleading and deceptive in trade.
“The outlets are accused of adding using preservatives beyond the 500 milligrams per kilogram that is the limit allowed by law,” he adds.
He was speaking from City Hall where Nairobi Government Mike Sonko held a meeting with Nairobi Health officials.
The supermarkets have also been accused of processing, treating, labeling, packaging, advertising food in a matter that is false, misleading and deceptive in trade.
They also face charges of endangering human life as well as engaging in businesses not captured in their licenses.
The county on Thursday closed meet sections of the supermarkets and promised to crack down on all eateries in town.
This is after Governor Mike Sonko issued executive orders to the county health department to probe and carry out tastes on all eateries.
The Governor assured residents that any culprit caught will face the full wrath of the law.
“Take this order seriously and table a report in my office,” Sonko said in a meeting with the health officials.
On Thursday night, Naivas Supermarket announced that it had suspended the sale of red meat across all its stores to pave way for an investigation.
“We will only be selling white meat for now in all our butcheries,” said Willy Kimani, the supermarket chain’s Chief Commercial Officer.
The government has since directed an investigation on all slaughterhouses and retailers following the TV expose.
NTV’s Investigative journalist Dennis Okari said his investigation showed meat samples from the supermarkets had chemical residue exceeding a permissible residue limit of 500p.p.m (parts per million).
The Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Veterinary Association have called for tough action against those found guilty of putting people’s lives at risk.
The veterinary association further urged the government to outlaw the use of chemical preservatives on unprocessed meat, due to lack of clear guidelines and control.
