The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has revealed that it does not test some of the goods sold in supermarkets since their manufacturers are certified.

KEBS acting managing director Esther Ngari told the parliament on Thursday that the testing agency relies on trust from manufacturers to produce quality goods.

Her statement has raised concerns over the quality of goods consumers buy on supermarket shelves. All products sold in Kenya must undergo testing to ascertain they are safe for consumption, after which they receive a standard stamp from KEBS.

Ngari said what the agency does is the inspection of the premises of manufacturers who meet the criteria provided for in the Standards Act before issuing them with the Diamond mark of quality.

Vehicles KEBS has banned from being imported into Kenya

The admission saw legislators propose to amend a law that will see KEBS officers who endanger the lives of Kenyans face strict punishment.

”I have always grown to respect Kebs’ mark of quality little did I know they don’t test or inspect the goods coming into the country and even those sold locally. What quality control are you talking about when all is based on trust? How sure are you that what Kenyans consume is of the right standards? Wajir South MP Mohamed Adow said.

The Executive Director of Kenya Consumers Organisation, Francis Orago, has demanded that the MD retract the statement and offer an explanation to Kenyans.

“Manufacturers are businessmen, and all they want to do is make a profit. If all KEBS does is inspection and works on trust to believe they give consumers quality, then they are very mistaken,” he said.

This comes a few months after President William Ruto suspended 27 officials for endangering the lives of Kenyans in a sweet sugar scandal.

The sugar in question was imported to the country in 2018 but was flagged by KEBS for want of expiry date specification.

The agency marked the 20,000-50 kgs bags of sugar as unfit for human consumption and was earmarked for destruction or conversion into industrial ethanol.

However, the process did not take place, and investigators said they discovered that the bad sugar had been released to the Kenyan market.

Among those sacked were Kebs Managing Director Benard Njirani and six other officials at KEBS, eight Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials, four police officers, and six others from the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).