Traders Involved In Illegal Repackaging of Food To Be Prosecuted

The Kenya Bureau of Standards has warned against illegal repackaging of food products and that traders involved in the sale of these food products without a Standardization Mark Permit risk seizure of their stock and prosecution in a court of law.

“We have noted with concern that various trading outlets, especially supermarkets, are illegally repackaging food products such as sugar, rice, and cooking fat without meeting the requirements of product certification that would assure quality and safety of the products,” said KEBS Managing Director Bernard Njiraini.

According to KEBS, illegal repackaging of food products is in contravention of the Standards Act, Cap 496, Laws of Kenya that require persons involved in the repackaging of products to acquire the KEBS Standardization Mark permit.

The KEBS Standardization Mark (SM) permit or the Diamond Mark of Quality (DM) is issued under the KEBS product certification scheme to products that comply with the relevant Kenya Standard. Imports are also issued with a Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) number.

KEBS MD, also added that all repackaged products in the country are also required to comply with the labeling specifications of the respective Kenya Standards.

Important information that must be incorporated on food product labels includes – the name of the product, list of ingredients, net content, name, and address of the manufacturer, country of origin, date marking, and instructions for use and storage conditions.

KEBS Managing Director Bernard Njiraini encouraged the general public to “Wajibika Na KEBS” to report any traders selling substandard products and all officers in the country suspected to lack integrity

About “Wajibika Na KEBS”

“Wajibika Na KEBS” is a program that allows the public to report cases about substandard products and a hindrance to service provision by any KEBS official.

To Wajibika, verify whether the S Mark permit on your product is valid by sending the code underneath the S Mark to 20023 (SM#Code) to get product validity status details.

To Wajibika, verify whether the KEBS official you are dealing with actually works for the organization send an SMS to 20023 (HR#Staff Number) to get employment details.