The Kenya Bureau of Standards has suspended ten brands of edible fats and cooking oil that it deems unsafe for human consumption.

In a statement, Kebs said the suspension was to bring to attention to the public and stop them from purchasing substandard products.

KEBS explained that the decision was reached after it sampled some of the cooking oil products.However, it was noted that the suspension was temporary. 

“The listed brands of non-compliant edible oils and fats that failed to meet the requirements of the standard: and to request your good office to notify your members to recall these brands and remove them from the supply chain from your members’ outlets across the country.

“Kindly note that this is not a ban on the brands but a temporary suspension to facilitate the protection of consumers from potentially unsafe products, safeguard the economic interests of manufacturers of compliant brands and allow the manufacturers of the non-compliant brand to initiate and put in place effective corrective action under KEBS supervision,” read the statement in part.

According to Kebs’s director of market surveillance, Peter Kaigwara, they recently examined and analyzed brands of edible fats and oils made by several Kenyan oil refineries.

He stated that it was in the best interests of consumers to preserve their health and economic well-being, as well as to maintain a level playing field.

“The samples were drawn from the retail outlets and were assessed against the requirements of the standard acts and the respective product standard KS EAS 769:KS 2019 fortified edible and fats- specification,” he said.

The cooking oils will only be permitted back on the market if they match the appropriate requirements, according to KEBS.

As a result, Kenyans were encouraged to check the quality of various cooking oils before purchasing them.

To that effect, KEBS outlined how Kenyans could verify that cooking oils had been certified for consumption by the organization.