The recent decision by Kenya to suspend maize imports from Uganda and Tanzania has stirred public concern over the safety of some food that is produced in the region, particularly grains.
Last week, Kenya banned the importation of maize from both countries, saying the products contained high levels of aflatoxins.
Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority said that the products were not fit for human consumption.
“The recommended levels of aflatoxin are ten parts per billion but the imports indicate that the levels are at 2,000 parts per billion, which is lethal,” Kello Harsama, the Acting Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), told the media last week.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), aflatoxins are poisonous substances produced by certain kinds of fungi (moulds) that are found naturally all over the world; they can contaminate food crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock.
WHO estimates that aflatoxins pose a significant economic burden, causing an estimated 25 per cent or more of the world’s food crops to be destroyed annually.
The decision by Kenya comes at the time some local agro-processing firms have been resorting to importing some grains, saying that the ones produced in the country contain high levels of aflatoxins.
FoodWorld 