Parliamentary committee on Monday stopped the release of edible oil worth Sh10 billion confiscated at the Port of Mombasa.
The National Assembly Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee has now directed the re-testing of the oil, which was impounded by a multi-agency task force last year.
The order was issued to determine whether the oil has Vitamin A and if it is safe for human consumption.
The committee decided to act after it emerged that Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya had directed for the release of the oil to the general public.
Earlier on, Munya had dispelled allegations that the oil was not safe for consumption.
The committee under the chairmanship of Kanini Kega (Kieni) questioned why the government changed the stand on the edible oil when it had been suspected to contain unwanted materials.
He said that the release will not continue as directed earlier on until investigations are completed and the officers ascertain the information from the testers.
“We have (stopped) the release of containers of edible oils to allow for retesting for vitamin A. We are giving Kebs another chance to retest the oils and give a report. If we are not satisfied, we will order an independent test,” Kega said.
On his part, the committee's Vice-Chair Cornelly Serem, said that the oil cannot be sold to the members of the public if it lacks Vitamin A.
"We want to get a report and minutes of Government that allowed the CS to release the edible oils. We also want to get a concurrence report from the Ministry of Health that the oils are fit for human consumption," he stated.