The Kenya Bureau of standards (KEBS) proves to be reliable considering parastatals and their apparent corruption scandals.  The Standard regulator has put up efforts to adopt five new standards to increase quality and safety of food additives Kenyans consume.

Food additives are substances added to food to maintain or improve its safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance.

“The newly approved standards will provide a basis to ascertain the quality, purity and safety of the Food additives which is important, as first step to ensure safe use as guided by the General Standard for Food additives. As a matter of fact, the use of food additives in food processing is technologically unavoidable with emphasis on justifiable safe use hence the need to establish quality and safety specification standards. This will facilitate trade while ensuring safe and sufficient food for a growing economy,” said Ltd. Col. (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini, Managing Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards.

There is a high demand for food additives and KEBS is taking the necessary steps to determine their quality and safety. The demand include non-nutrive sweeteners for special dietary purposes in both foods and beverages industries. Food processing additives are emphasized concerning their wide use, hence the need to establish quality and safety specification standards, this include baker’s yeast, sucralose, aspartame, saccharin and baking powder.

“Food additives will also be produced, prepared and handled in accordance with code of practice for hygiene in the food industry which lays emphasis to both Good Manufacturing Practice and use of food safety systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), thus further assuring consumers of the quality and safety of what they consume,” Njiraini adds.

The new standards will see the stakeholders in the industry preparing food additives in accordance with code of practice for hygiene. This will also boost the economy in the long run.