Kenya has in recent years made major investments and progress in driving growth in the country’s dairy industry, with last year’s annual production reaching 4.6 billion litres.
Quality and safety of milk remain at the heart of Kenya Dairy Board’s operations amid plans to increase annual production to about 11 billion litres by 2027.
The Star spoke to the board’s managing director Margaret Kibogy on investment in the National Dairy Regulatory Laboratory, a transformational milestone for the dairy industry and the recent ISO certification.
Excerpts:
In a nutshell who is Kenya Dairy Board?
The Kenya Dairy Board is a corporate body established under the Dairy Industry Act Cap 336 of the laws of Kenya with a mandate to regulate, develop and promote the dairy industry. The mandate of the Board is to provide for the improvement and control of the dairy industry and its products.
The routine activities of the board are to carry out dairy inspection, licensing/issuance of permits to dairy business operators, stakeholder support and dairy produce quality and safety surveillance.
Tell us about the National Dairy Regulatory Laboratory and what it means to the dairy sector?
The laboratory was established in 2015 by Kenya Dairy Board leadership in order to support the Board to effectively undertake its regulatory role and guide compliance in the dairy industry. Construction of the Laboratory commenced in the 2016-2017 financial year and was completed in 2020.
In 2021, the laboratory became operational with three established laboratory units in Physical, Chemical and Microbiology sections. During this period, the laboratory was able to recruit competent personnel to manage its operations and ensure professional analysis and reporting of results for compliance with the established dairy industry standards and regulations.
Its establishment was aimed at providing testing services for milk and milk products and assessment of milk quality and safety. Continuous training and awareness programs have been conducted for the staff to strengthen their capacity to professionalism, efficiency, and reliability in delivering high-quality testing services.
How well is it equipped?
It is very well-equipped, that one I can affirm. We are able to conduct a wide range of dairy testing services ensuring efficient and accurate testing processes. The laboratory offers a wide range of testing services for milk and milk products and has capability to conduct physical, chemical and microbiological analysis of milk and milk products.
The laboratory is in Nairobi, how do you ensure the quality of milk across the country?
Very good question. The answer is we are all over. We have officers in all counties with a well-structured work plan including daily random milk surveillance and checks on the roads. We can stop you anytime and test the quality of milk you are moving to the market or delivering to households.
This way, we ensure that even that retailer or farmer moving milk in small quantities adheres to the quality and safety standards. We can detect when one has added water or any other unwanted additives ensuring we protect consumers and the public in general.
There is a wide conversation about
food testing concept and practice.
What does this mean in the dairy
industry?
In today’s world, there has been a rising concern for food that is free from harmful contaminants and that only permitted additives at acceptable levels are for human consumption. In addition, the food item must contain the right levels of key ingredients and its label declarations correct to guarantee genuineness of a food commodity.
Dairy produce testing laboratory is a subset of the food laboratory testing services offered to the dairy industry to determine the levels of compliance to quality and safety of dairy produce. Safety testing involves analysis of disease-causing pathogens and physical or chemical contaminants in the dairy products.
The presence of microbial and chemical contaminants causes serious food borne diseases to consumers. Due to the increase in food borne illnesses, there is growing concern over the quality and safety of dairy products used for human consumption.
Subsequently, there has been an increased emphasis on the microbiological and chemical analysis of milk and dairy products are designed to ensure safety of dairy products in order to protect consumer safety, achieve regulatory compliance and minimize risk to food businesses.
You are an ISO certified facility which is quite an achievement. Tell us about the journey?
Achieving ISO 17025;2017 accreditation, which in a simple explanation means competence of testing laboratory accreditation, involves a structured process to ensure that the requirements of the standard are achieved and sustained.
The accreditation pathway for the National Dairy Regulatory Laboratory began in March 2021 with capacity development of laboratory staff on the requirements of the standard by the Kenya Accreditation Services (KENAS).
Thereafter, the laboratory engaged in the development of the laboratory policies, procedures and records management requirements. The management committed to provide necessary resources and leadership to make the objective a success.
Gap analysis was conducted and action plans developed over the period to address the identified shortfalls and bridge expectations with properly defined responsibilities and deliverables.
Internal audits were continuously conducted on planned intervals to determine the extent at which the laboratory quality management system meets the standard requirements.
Any identified shortfalls were timely closed out and corrective and preventive actions established to ensure non-recurrence of system failures to the general requirements of the standard.
In March 2024, having satisfied the requirements of the ISO 17025 Standard, the laboratory applied for accreditation.
An assessment was conducted to evaluate the fulfillment of the standard and competence. On October 17 ,2024, the National Dairy Regulatory Laboratory was granted accreditation by the Kenya Accreditation Service as a competent testing laboratory for milk and milk products.
What are the benefits?
The accreditation signifies global acceptance of laboratory test results. This promotes industry confidence in compliance assessment for quality and safety of dairy produce, further enhancing market reputation of Kenya’s dairy produce.
The accreditation supports accuracy and reliability of testing through use of standardized procedures and validated test methods that are globally acceptable.
There is also increased customer satisfaction and trust in the results generated by the laboratory for improved development and compliance of the dairy produce, providing competitive advantage for Kenya’s dairy produce.
Economically, trade in dairy produce that meets the compliance requirements for quality and safety guarantees increased returns for dairy producers and dairy business operators, hence promoting economic sustainability and growth of the country’s dairy produce. This opens doors for expanded opportunities and advantageous trade facilitation for dairy produce.
What is the laboratory’s role in supporting the dairy industry?
From the farm to the consumer, our laboratory has been a trusted partner in strengthening the dairy industry feeding into the core mandate of the Board. We have provided a number of key contributions which includes enhancing milk safety and quality compliance.
Through testing, we have ensured that milk and milk products meet health and safety standards, protecting consumers and upholding the reputation of dairy processors.
We support dairy business operators by offering diagnostic services and technical guidance, which has helped empower them to adopt best practices, improve productivity, and reduce losses. Another thing is that we are influencing policy and standards.
What is your future vision?
While accreditation is a significant milestone, it is also the foundation for future growth and innovation. We are excited to continue driving change in the dairy industry through further advancements of the laboratory’s capacity.
We are deeply grateful to
our partners, regulators, and industry
stakeholders who supported us on
this journey. Together, we will build a
thriving, competitive, and sustainable
dairy industry that benefits all.
