Nairobi County Government officers raided street food vendors premises on Wednesday, August 28 and arrested ten of them for selling uninspected food to residents.
The health and inspectorate officers were conducting an inspection to make sure food vendors and other eateries in the city are operating using health certificates when in the process they arrested seven food vendors in Kamukunji and five in Embakasi.
The arrests happened after the County Health Officers had given a two-week room for food outlets, eateries, and food vendors to reapply for health certificates for their businesses.
According to Mohammed Dagane, the Nairobi County Health Executive, inspectorate officers have been inspecting food businesses in the city after the two-week deadline, and they will continue the crackdown.
“City Hall had given a notice to food vendors to have their health certificates reapplied for. We will not allow anyone to sell uninspected food. We are trying to avoid a situation where there will be health problems which can be prevented,” he said.
“We want to ensure that only safe food is sold in Nairobi. The county government is aware and we expect that soon it will expand its food inspection department to suit the city’s growing population,” said Mr. Dagane.
Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) had put the County Health Officers on the spot for not issuing food vendors with health certificates despite the charges for the same being paid to the county.
KAM’s regional coordinator for Nairobi region Robert Juma said that the County’s health authorities are sleeping on their job as they did not issue food businesses with certificates for almost a year.
“The county is keen to ensure that business people pay their good health certificate fees as required, arresting those who fail to do so, but that is where their job ends. They do not issue public food handlers with the certificates,” revealed Mr. Juma.
“City Hall is incapable of testing, tracking and having proof that food handlers have been tested. The four licensed laboratories are already overwhelmed, which makes Nairobi residents consumers of untested foods,” he added.