Category: AFRICAN NEWS

IFC partners with Kenyan retailer Naivas to implement International food safety standards

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KENYA – In light of the Red alert expose done by a local media company in Kenya in July 2019, more stringent measures on food safety have been employed by various supermarkets. The expose brought to the limelight how some Kenyan supermarkets apply harmful chemicals to keep the red meat color giving it a fresh look. To this end, according to a report by International Finance Corporation (IFC), Naivas supermarket, Kenya’s leading and fastest growing local retailer, is one of the outlets that is adopting international food safety standards. In…

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Afreximbank boosts capacity of food safety compliance in Africa with establishment of first quality assurance centre in Nigeria

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NIGERIA – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade, has commenced the construction of an Africa Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) in Ogun State, Nigeria. Construction of the state-of-the-art facility commenced on 25th February 2021 and is expected to kick-start operations by the second quarter of 2022. The Ogun State AQAC is strategically located on a 5-hectare plot of land allocated by the Ogun State Government along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The project site is 65km from Lagos, Nigeria’s main port city…

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Upfield Kenya joins band of manufacturers driving food safety agenda by obtaining FSSC 22000 Certification

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KENYA – Upfield, the global leader in plant-based nutrition has marked the World Food Safety Day in style, as its Kenyan operations obtained the coveted Food Management System Standard certification, FSSC 22000. The maker of the blue band brand has received the certification indicating that it has implemented the most robust food safety management system while manufacturing and handling the food products. “Our Nairobi based Blue Band manufacturing plant meets the requirements of an internationally recognized best practice approach and has been able to implement a robust food defense and…

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Developing countries urged to uphold food safety measures adopted during pandemic period

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AFRICA – The world cannot over emphasis on the importance of ensuring the adoption of food safety practices and technologies in the entire agriculture and food value chain. This year, the globe has turned its focus on ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’, as the theme of the World Food Safety Day 2021, stressing that production and consumption of safe food has immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy. However, according to a flagship dialogue hosted by EatSafe, developing countries have not yet made gainful…

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Kenya gets US$6m from EU to boost sanitary and phytosanitary standards of fresh produce

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KENYA – The European Union (EU) has granted Kenya €5 million (US$6 million) to support its horticultural sector achieve sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) as required by the export markets. Under a four-year plan dubbed New Export Trade (NExT), EU aims at increasing the contribution of the horticultural sector to household income. Deputy Head of Delegation, EU to Kenya, Katrin Hagemann, said this will be achieved through the generation of employment opportunities and foreign currency. She said to improve food security safety and nutrition there is need to increase the…

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Kenya adopts new standards to govern fast-growing food additives market

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KENYA – Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the government standards agency has approved five new standards aimed to boost the safety and quality of food additives in the market. The adopted guidelines are aimed to provide a basis to ascertain the quality, purity, and safety of the food additives, which according to KEBS Managing Director, Ltd. Col. (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini, it’s the 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…

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TBS trains rice stakeholders on recommended standards as production in 2021 to rise by 13.6%

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TANZANIA – Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has embarked on disseminating information pertaining to the organization, better production principles, standards and recommended operation procedures, to the rice stakeholders in the country. To this end, the regulatory body has urged entrepreneurs dealing with processing, packaging and selling of rice to take into account standards, quality and safety of their products as way to increase productivity. The call was made by the TBS Training and Research Manager Hamisi Mwanasala while training entrepreneurs from Mwanza Region. The entrepreneurs were also guided on to…

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Kenya’s fast-growing food manufacturer Mjengo Limited obtains FSSC 22000 Certification

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KENYA – Malbros Group, trading as Mjengo Limited, has announced that its operations have been certified by Bureau Veritas, receiving the Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000). Bureau Veritas is a company specialized in the testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including Building & Infrastructure, Agri-food & Commodities, Marine & Offshore, Industry, Certification and Consumer Products. The FSSC 22000 certification meets the Global Food Safety Initiative’s (GFSI) specification, by providing an audit of the Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) to certify…

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