The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has rolled out new rules guiding poultry farming in the country to protect consumers from unhealthy rearing practices.
KEBS underlined that the guidelines were part of 28 new standards primed at managing food allergen on dried peaches as well as grading meat products.
The agency cautioned that the emergence of a food allergen necessitated it to act to safeguard the Kenyan population.
"These standards require the declaration of allergen status on products that commonly cause allergic reactions," the KEBS noted in a statement released on Friday, March 11.
The agency listed responsible and globally affected standards that would guide poultry farming right from production to slaughter and weed out rogue farmers, especially in the grading of live chicken for both indigenous (Kienyeji) and improved indigenous chicken.
Farmers will now be required to label precautionary allergen on the packaging.
Every person involved in farming should be educated on biosecurity and its impact on poultry.
The immediate environment of poultry should be kept clean at all times and anything moving outside the designated area of rearing should be clean and disinfected.
Each area should have a small number of birds kept in separate structures depending on age. Overstocking and overcrowding are now considered key offences.
Other guidelines include farmers having proper decontamination points within the structures, farm inputs and feeds should be sourced from accredited suppliers to protect consumers from substances that may affect the consumers.
"Every farmer should obtain and vaccinate the birds as advised by accredited veterinary officers," KEBS announced.
KEBS will also address customer expectations and regulatory oversight such as company reputation, retail audit requirements, and government regulations.
All questions regarding consumers' preferred food products in line with medical and safety considerations will also be addressed.
This would further minimize mortalities, maximize yields, protect the product quality and enhance product integrity, according to KEBS.
KEBS managing director Bernard Njiraini warned that farmers were found to have overlooked simple handling procedures, others were overfeeding chicken, rearing them in cramped up structures with no exposure to natural lighting, and using crude methods during transportation and slaughter.
They also not only exposed the market to diseases, sold unhealthy meat unfit for their consumption but also failed in protecting the welfare of poultry.
KEBS Director for Standards Development and Trade Esther Ngari explained that poor handling procedures lead to poor quality poultry meat.
She stressed that poultry supply stakeholders should commit and accept the responsibility to ensure consumers are protected.
"The standards will ensure that the poultry supply chain improves the well-being of poultry by reducing handling and transport stress," Ngari stated.
"KEBS purposes to effectively regulate the forms used by the various food industry which often has inconsistent and may over time diminish the value of such advisory to consumers," Njiraini added.
