Kenyans could be consuming substandard cooking oil that was released into the market despite failing to meet Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) quality standards, a Senate committee heard on Thursday.
The damning revelation came during a meeting of the Senate Trade Committee when Kebs officials admitted that about 5.87 million litres of cooking oil imported into the country in 2023 did not meet quality standards.
Appearing before the committee chaired by Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku, Kebs Managing Director, Esther Ngari, told senators that a test conducted on a sample of edible oils imported by the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) and its agents revealed that they contained insoluble impurities or had insufficient levels of vitamin A, causing the products to spoil quickly.
The shocking development comes even though the imports come with a certificate of conformity to Kenyan standards.
Ms Ngari said a random sampling of 1,027,678 consignments in 20-litre jerrycans showed that 293,800 were substandard.
The sample was taken from a total of 73 consignments that KNTC shipped into the country from Malaysia between May 2023 and November 2023.
She explained that out of the 73 consignments, only 44 were approved by Kebs, six are at the submission stage and are yet to be approved for release by Kebs, while the remaining 23 are yet to be declared by the importer.
The Kebs boss told the committee that of the 44 approved, the standards body targeted eight for destination inspection at Mombasa port against the Kenya Standard Specification for Fortified Edible Oils and Fats.
Of the eight, seven failed on vitamin A while one consignment failed on both insoluble impurities and vitamin A.
She further said that the status of the cooking oil that is yet to be released can only be ascertained once the importer submits the required documents and verification as per the existing standards and regulations.
Ms Ngari explained that vitamin A is a fortificant that is added to cooking oil at levels of 20 to 40 mg/kg (as per the standard KS EAS 769:2019 Kenya Standard Specification for fortified edible oils and fats) as an effective strategy to address vitamin A deficiency in the population.
However, the test results showed that 227,300 jerrycans of the imported oil contained inadequate levels of the vitamin.
A total of 66,500 20-litre cans contained both insoluble impurities and did not meet the vitamin A requirement.
"I would like to state that we tested the eight containers and the result showed that they failed. By the fact that they did not meet the vitamin A requirements, they are substandard," Ms Ngari said.
"The presence of high levels of insoluble impurities can accelerate the oxidation of the oil, potentially shortening its shelf life," she added.
The edible oils were destined for various parts of the country including Nairobi, Mombasa, Bondo, Maua, Nakuru, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Rongo, and Thika.
Others are Kiambu, Athi River, Kakamega, Githurai, Timau, Eldoret, Nyeri, Kitengela, Murang'a and Kitale.
The shipment included palm oil, enriched edible oil and fat, sunflower oil, extra virgin avocado oil, soybean oil, virgin sunflower oil, cold-pressed sunflower, rapeseed oil, refined rapeseed oil, blended edible oil, maize oil, palm fat powder, groundnut oil, and sesame oil.
According to documents submitted to the committee by Kebs, the first rejection occurred on May 6, 2023, for a consignment of 53,200 20-litre jerry cans of edible oil imported by Malaysian company Multi Commerce FZC.
According to a special audit report released last month, Multi Commerce is a foreign company that was incorporated in Kenya four months after KNTC signed the contract for the multi-billion shilling cooking oil deal.
On June 10, 2023, another 66,500 litres from the same supplier was rejected, followed by another 39,900 litres, and later on June 24, 2023, another 40,260 jerrycans.
In October, shipments from different suppliers were also rejected. On October 1, 13,420 jerricans of 20-litre cooking oil from Ascent Groups were also rejected.
On October 20, 26,840 jerrycans from Inno Wangs faced the same fate, and the rejections continued into November, with two consignments from Inno Wangs, both totalling 26,840 litres, being rejected on November 8.
Shockingly, Ms Ngari told the MPs that Kebs had written to KNTC informing them of the results and asking them to return the consignment within 30 days or destroy it at the importer's expense.
However, she said the consignment was not destroyed because, by the time the 30 days expired, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had started investigating the matter.
"We informed the KNTC team that the eight containers had failed the tests and that they should either return them or destroy them at their own expense. However, they were not destroyed," said Ms Ngari.
She pointed out that the cooking oil was expected to meet all the requirements set out in the Kebs standards.
Ms Ngari said importers, traders, and their agents are well guided in the process of ensuring that any product imported into the country meets the requirements of the relevant applicable standards and regulations.
"In this case, Kenya National Trading Corporation and its agents are not exempted from any of the requirements for the importation of quality or standard of edible oils," she said.
Pressed by the committee on why Kebs released the 36 containers to KNTC when the eight were found to be unfit for human consumption, Ms Ngari clarified that no pre-testing was done on the said consignments as they were accompanied by a Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued by SGS Limited.
The company is the one contracted by Kebs to carry out an inspection in the country of export of goods destined for Kenya.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago demanded to know why KEBS failed to recall all imports after some samples failed the tests.
"When you do something and you find out that seven out of 10 samples failed. What does that say about KEBS? Would you still approve the rest of the shipment or should the sample act as a red flag?" asked Mr Mandago.
In his defence, Kebs Quality Assurance and Inspection Director Geoffrey Murira said that most of the consignment came with a certificate of conformity.
"I do not know the exact number of jerricans taken from each sample. But I'm saying there is a specific number that was drawn based on scientific representation," said Mr Murira.
Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang'wa questioned why Kebs failed to ensure that the substandard cooking oil was destroyed when the law gives 30 days for return or destruction.
Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute wanted answers on whether the DCI case prevented the destruction of the substandard cooking oil.
"We want to know where the substandard oil is being sold so that we can advise his people to stop buying it," said Mr Chute.
Nominated Senator Betty Montet added: "Are you telling us that the rest of the remaining consignments, which are 36, have been released to Kenyans and you have done nothing about it?"
The committee ordered Kebs to produce the letters showing it had raised concerns about the imported cooking oil.
