Is your maize dry enough? Beware of aflatoxin poisoning, state warns

The government has warned over the danger of aflatoxin in maize milled across the country.

As the UN marked the World Food Safety day on June 7, Agriculture Principal Secretary Kello Harsama said aflatoxin is a major challenge and threat to food safety in Kenya.

He said farmers and many Kenyans especially those who mill flour in the posho mills do not dry their maize to the right moisture content of 13.5.

Harsama told the Star that there is no testing of aflatoxin in posho mills and that only big and some small scale millers are able to test their maize before milling.

"The problem is that there are many posho mills in the villages which are unregulated and do not test or have the capacity to test maize for aflatoxin,” he said.    

Harsama said they are planning to work with counties to ensure maize being milled in the posho mills is tested for aflatoxin.

"Aflatoxin is an area of concern to the government. We are working to build the capacity of counties by training them and encouraging them to establish testing laboratories in their respective counties," he said. 

The PS added that food safety is an area of concern but a lot of emphasis has been put on food going outside the country and there is a need to also ensure that food consumed locally is safe.

In line with this, Harsama said the government has empowered PCPB and KEBs to ensure that locally produced food is safe for consumption.  

According to the World Health Organisation, food standards save lives and that on average, over one million people globally get sick due to unsafe food daily.

At least 340 children under five years of age die due to preventable food borne diseases on average every day, and there are 200 diseases caused by unsafe food, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.

WHO further indicates that food borne diseases affect one in ten people worldwide each year, and food standards help to ensure the food we eat is safe.

The PS confirmed that there is a Food Safety Bill in Parliament that will among other things seek to establish the Food Safety Authority.

He said once this becomes law, the authority will enforce regulations governing food safety.

"While there are existing regulations being enforced by the relevant government agencies, food safety will be better governed, enforced, standardised and managed, when the food safety bill is passed into law,” Harsama said.

He noted that the current agencies mandated to do this job are not doing it as required due to budget constraints and inadequate personnel across the country.

The Food Safety Bill was enacted in 2013, but in 2018 a ministerial task force composed of the ministries of Health and Agriculture was created to review the bill and other food safety related legislations.

The bill seeks to address the role and responsibility of food business operators in ensuring food safety in the country. This will require training and capacity building. 

The PS said the current food safety laws emphasise on food exports rather than domestic, but the bill will ensure domestic food is also taken care of. It will also ensure the role of the county governments and other competent authorities in enhancing safety.