Nairobi residents were advised to be cautious while purchasing foodstuff as household commodities that surpassed shelf life were in circulation.
Speaking during a police raid at a go-down in Embakasi on Friday, March 3, Nairobi County Assembly Health Chairman, Maurice Ochieng', revealed that the owner of the facility was repackaging expired foodstuff and supplying it to various shops.
The majority of the commodities discovered at the facility were maize flour, wheat flour and cooking ingredients.
"We have so many foodstuffs that are almost expiring and they interfere with their shelf life. We are urging Nairobians to be very careful when they buy the products," he stated.
Consequently, Ochieng' appealed to Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja, to audit all foodstuff being sold across shops and retail centres to prevent Kenyans from partaking in expired foodstuff.
"We are putting the business owners on notice. Those found with a product not registered or one that does not have a shelf life will be arraigned in court.
"The governor should act with speed and audit all products being sold in the shops," he stated.
One of the police officers who participated in the raid stated the owner of the go-down had machines printing new expiry dates on food items.
The officer revealed that they apprehended workers at the facility and would track the business owner who was on the run.
"After we came here we found some machines and stickers used to change the dates of these foodstuffs," the officer detailed.
How To Check
Consequently, Kenyans were advised to check on the expiry dates of the foodstuff usually labelled on commodities.
Should the sticker or dates be tampered with, one should avoid purchasing the product.
On the other hand, one can also use the standardisation mark by the Kenya Bureau Of Standards (KEBS) to authenticate whether the product is legit.
This is done through sending an SMS of the standardisation mark and the permit number - usually under the KEBS logo to 20023.
KEBS response will entail the brand, manufacturer, when the permit was issued and the expiry date.
