Nairobi County has ordered all Naivas Supermarkets in the county to close with immediate effect over the sale of expired products.
According to the Nairobi County Health Committee, the supermarket chain has been selling products that have expired, leaving it with no choice but to close down the popular supermarkets.
“We are here at Naivas Moi Avenue, and we have realised that there are expired products on the shelf, putting Nairobians at risk,” the committee, led by MCA Maurice Ochieng, said on Wednesday, May 14.
According to the Nairobi County Assembly legislators, the supermarket's spot check of one of the retailers found expired yoghurt on the shelves and also found some products without expiry dates.
Furthermore, the supermarket chain has been accused of using staff who are not certified.
“Also, we found out that the people handling this product have not been tested. Therefore, as a committee, resolve that we resolve to close all the Naivas outlets in Nairobi so that they can be tested and be given certificates so that they are able to serve the Nairobians," the county added.
According to the official, Naivas will only be allowed to reopen once the staff are tested and medically certified.
The closure is also said to allow a thorough investigation into the supermarket as well as its suppliers.
Amongst the expired products was yoghurt, which Ochieng demonstrated to members of the press present.
He also disclosed that some of the products lacked an indication of a shelf life, warning that this posed an immense health hazard to consumers.
Naivas Supermarket operates over 30 branches within Nairobi County, including areas such as Kilimani, Lavington, Westlands, Lang'ata, Buruburu, and Kasarani.
"We will not sit back, and we are urging Suzzane Silantoi (County Chief Health Officer) to move with speed and make sure that Nairobians are safe with food because most of these facilities have expired products," he added.
The closure of the outlets can deal a huge blow to the operations of Naivas, with hundreds of their employees at risk of being rendered jobless.
Other employees across branches in other areas across the country might also be at risk, especially if the national government also orders a closure of all other chains.
