Kebs seizes 993 bags of expired rice worth Sh2.3m in West Pokot

 

The Kenya Bureau of Standards has seized 993 expired bags of rice, worth Sh2.3 million during market surveillance activities in Ortum, West Pokot County.

With the assistance of officers from the National Police Service, Kebs intercepted the expired rice, branded “KPL” and “Orient Thai” packed in 25kg bags.

"Repackaging of expired food products is a serious malpractice that puts the health of consumers in grave danger,” MD Bernard Njiraini said.

"We have intensified market surveillance activities to sustain efforts to get rid of substandard products in the market.”

In a statement on Thursday, Njiraini said the seized products will be destroyed at the expense of the owners, in addition to any other legal action, as provided by the law.

Kebs monitors the effectiveness of quality control measures for products sold in the country through factory inspections, product certifications, market surveillance activities at the factory, and market to ensure that the public is protected from harmful products.

As part of the product certification scheme, Kebs certifies and issues a Standardization Mark  permit or Diamond Mark of Quality once the product complies with the relevant process .

Njiraini asked Kenyans to “Wajibika Na Kebs” and be on the lookout for products suspected to be substandard. 

The 'Wajibika Na Kebs' programme allows the public to report cases about substandard products.

 To participate, verify whether the S Mark permit on your product is valid by sending the code underneath it to 20023 (SMS code) to get product validity status details.  

If the details are different, report to Kebs Toll-Free 1545 during official working hours of 8am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday.