The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the Public health department have been put on the spot over the handling of seized sugar following alarm over suspected contraband sugar in the country.
KEBS AND Public health officers who on Wednesday accompanied members of the joint National Assembly committee on Agriculture and Trade found themselves on the receiving end after they failed to explain why thousands of tonnes of sugar seized in two warehouses belonging to Menengai oil refineries had not been kept properly.
The committee led by Vice-chairman Emmanuel Wangwe found that samples of sugar taken in three different warehouses in Nakuru more than one week ago are yet to be received.
At the Nakuru blankets warehouse and Menengai oil refineries main warehouses, the committee found sugar had been stored on the floor contrary to public health requirement for such products to be stacked on wooden flats.
Wangwe said that by doing so, owners of the warehouses were exposing consumers of the product to health risks given the dampness on the floor.
“After the committee winds up its tour of various warehouses containing seized sugar, we will present a final report detailing if the government lost money from the sugar importation and who should bear the cost for the same,” said Wangwe.
KEBS officers were at pains to explain the difference between two consignments of brown sugar seized as both resembled in physical appearance while the officers insisted that one lot was for consumption while the other was to undergo further processing.
While expressing concern about a tampered seal at a warehouse in Menengai oil refineries, the MP for Kwanza Ferdinand Wanyonyi called on the county security team to ensure that all warehouses containing seized sugar should remain under lock and key until the contents are certified as fit for human consumption.
Rongai lawmaker Raymond Moi expressed concerns that after the gazettement of exemption of sugar was made, local millers were not given the opportunity to import sugar thus creating a window for unscrupulous traders.
At one time there was drama outside Menengai oil refineries after journalists were barred from accessing the premises forcing the committee members to intervene.