The Kenyan food safety system still needs modernization to make it more science and risk-based, as well as functional.
This is the main focus for delegates attending a three-day forum organized by the Food and Agriculture Export Alliance (FAEA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The event which kicked off today in Nairobi aims to strengthen the capacity of Food Business Operators (FBOs) in Kenya to address food safety risks, ahead of the implementation of the Food and Feed Safety Control Coordination Bill 2023.
The proposal by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot seeks to establish a legal framework for food safety collaboration between the national and county governments.
The bill, which is before the Senate, aims to establish the Office of the Food Safety Controller to provide for the role of county governments in food and feed safety to ensure the supply of safe food across the country.
The proposed law is currently in the Senate for debate after being passed by the National Assembly.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, PS Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Paul Ronoh said that The capacity of FBOs to meet the regulatory requirements and modernize their food safety programmes to align with international best practices is highly variable.
"While large corporations with export markets have implemented modern food safety programmes, small and medium FBOs are lagging,'' Ronoh said.
It is on this background that USDA through FAEA and Trade Mark Africa (TMA) has agreed to support capacity needs enhancement activities in Kenya, focusing on the private sector.
The broad objective of the activities is to strengthen the capacity of the private sector in Kenya across priority value chains to be able to address food safety risks.
"A capacitated industry will be in a better position to participate in the implementation of Kenya’s newly drafted Food and Feed Safety policy and proposed law currently in the National Assembly."
According to Gina Tumbarello, FAEA, executive director, they are privileged to co-host this workshop with USDA and are here because they remain dedicated to supporting industry stakeholders in Kenya.
"Our shared goal is to ensure that current and future regulations provide optimal public health protection, are practical for implementation, and promote the growth of Kenyan industry both domestically and in export markets”.
To this end, USDA directly and through FAEA has invested over $500,000 (Sh64.5 million) in supporting Kenya in drafting a new food and feed safety policy and bill.
The eventual passage of the bill will create a legal and transparent framework for developing a regulatory system that will serve FBOs and consumers alike to ensure safe and quality food and feed products for the nation.
The workshop hopes to develop a roadmap to prioritize capacity training needs for the private sector with the intent to develop a curriculum in conjunction with a local university, which would then host future training for the private sector.
It will also strengthen the capacity of the private sector to confidently address Kenya’s food safety risks in their processes going forward.
