Kenya’s largest retailer by branches, Naivas, says it will roll out a programme to increase the capacity of food businesses towards improving standards of food safety in its 71 stores.
This will be executed through a partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) focusing on the environmental health and food safety department to monitor the quality of meat, milk and vegetables in all its outlets.
Under the deal, IFC will support Naivas to attain ISO 22000, which is an internationally recognized food safety management system in some of its outlets.
According to IFC, contaminated food causes over 91 million people to fall sick in Africa every year. Illnesses caused by the consumption of contaminated food cost the continent $110 billion in healthcare expenses and lost productivity.
“Kenyan consumers face numerous food safety threats such as contaminated vegetables grown along sewer lines, fresh meat with toxic chemicals, and peanut butter and maize flour brands containing aflatoxin,” reads a statement on the IFC website.
