The Busia County health department on Monday destroyed expired foodstuffs worth sh. 750,000.
Speaking to the press before destroying the items, the County Chief Officer for Health and Sanitation, Dr. Isaac Omeri said that the assorted items including soda, flour, biscuits, cooking oil and milk were found in one of the wholesaler’s stores.
“According to section 250 of the public health Act, our officers carried out inspections in shops to establish whether foodstuffs in their shelfs are fit for human consumption and found the items,” he said, adding that most of them expired in 2018.
He explained that consumption of such goods may cause health complications like cancer, since most of them are already rotten.
“So we have followed the due process by first confiscating the items, taking the trader to court after which it made a ruling that the health department destroy the said items,” he said.
The official urged the traders to ensure that they consider consumer rights and wellbeing by disposing expired goods instead of selling them to unsuspecting people.
“These goods were found in the traders’ stores and there are possibilities that they could be sold to the public,” he said, adding that the law stipulates that such goods should be destroyed.
Dr. Omeri at the same time said that public health officers were also implementing the order from Kenya Bureau of Standards to ensure that all banned maize flour are not sold to the local residents.
The Busia County Public Health Officer, Joseph Oprong advised the residents to be keen in checking the expiry date of goods before buying.
Oprong explained that selling of expired goods is a criminal offence punishable by the law and further advised residents to ensure that cereals are well dried to prevent aflatoxin.
By Salome Alwanda
