NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 – Traders involved in the sale of repackaged food products without a Standardization Mark Permit risk seizure of their stock and prosecution in a court of law, warns the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
“We have noted with concern that various trading outlets, especially supermarkets, are illegally repackaging food products such as sugar, rice and cooking fat without meeting the requirements of product certification that would assure quality and safety of the products. This is in contravention of the Standards Act, Cap 496, Laws of Kenya that requires persons involved in repackaging of products to acquire the KEBS Standardization Mark permit,” warns Lt Col (Rtd.) Bernard Njiraini, Managing Director, KEBS.
The Standardization Mark (SM) permit or the Diamond Mark of Quality (DM) is issued under the KEBS product certification scheme to products that comply with the relevant Kenya Standard.
Imports are also issued with a Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) number.
All repackaged products are also required to comply with the labelling specifications of the respective Kenya Standards.
Important information that must be incorporated on food product labels include – the name of the product, list of ingredients, net content, name and address of manufacturer, country of origin, date marking, and instructions for use and storage conditions.
“It should be noted that any person who contravenes any of the provisions of subsections of the Standards Act, Cap 496, of the Laws of Kenya mentioned above or fails to comply with any conditions in a permit, shall be guilty of an offence.”
