The government, through the Ministry of Health, is now widening the variety of fortified foods, with rice being the new kid on the block, just to ensure that Kenyan consumers continue to have access to nutritious meals.
Increasing the level and variety of fortified foods has come at a time when consumption habits have changed, making it necessary to align fortification efforts to ensure access to nutrition by consumers.
Under the Kenyan law, fortification of wheat flour, maize meal, fats, and oils has been made mandatory through the amendment of the Food, Drugs, and Chemical Substances Act of the Laws of Kenya CAP 254, Notice No. 62 of June 2012, and amended again in July 2015.
A policy brief on rice fortification was developed last year, and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBs) has already drafted an East Africa Standard for rice fortification, awaiting adoption at the regional level.
Speaking during a regional consultation on sustainable universal salt iodisation and food fortification for the prevention and control of micronutrient deficiencies in East and Southern Africa, Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Kariuki said that the country is at the forefront of food fortification, which has increased the availability of essential micronutrients like iron, Vitamin A and B complexes, and also zinc.
She added that the private sector is however crucial, and collaboration is key to expanding access to fortified foods across Kenya and the region.
Despite the achievements made, Kariuki said challenges still remain in ensuring the sustainability of the programmes under fortification, which require continuous vigilance, especially in monitoring compliance, raising consumer awareness of the benefits of fortified foods, and addressing the costs of pre-mixes.
“This three-day consultation is an opportunity to reflect on the progress, the sharing of best practices, and discussions of strategies needed to overcome the hurdles of the region, as well as the expansion of the programmes,” she said.
The PS noted that the three-day conference will see stakeholders develop a strategic roadmap for 2025-2030 that will guide actions in scaling up food fortification and maintaining universal salt iodisation.
Speaking to KNA, Charles Opiyo from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) said there is need to come up with fortification programmes for countries in order to address matters of food insecurity and hidden hunger, which is a micronutrient deficiency.
“A lot of times we feel that we are food secure, and yet we are not able to meet the micronutrient requirements that our bodies need for development, for better health, and generally even for economic growth as a country. Fortification is therefore a key and critical topic that should be talked about,“ he said.
Opiyo noted that GAIN has been part of the journey in the conversation around fortification since 2012 and that Kenya should be proud that it has done well.
When it comes to rice fortification, Opiyo said rice is now gaining a lot of traction because of populous countries across the globe such as India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh that have a large population that feeds on rice as not only a resilient crop but, compared to maize, is widely consumed.
Kenya, he noted, recently embarked on the journey of food fortification, and through the World Food Programme (WFP) and other organisations, they have come together and begun conversation around rice fortification, borrowing a lot of lessons from West Africa and parts of Asia who are already in that space.
“GAIN is working with the government, the Jomo Kenyatta University, and other stakeholders. We have just commissioned a landscape analysis for rice in this country so that if we are to present it as a major vehicle for fortification, we have to understand ecosystems in terms of the levels of production, how much we are importing, how much can be fortified, varieties, and everything else that is necessary, including consumption and even the consumer behaviour,“ Opiyo said.
He confirmed that the landscape analysis report will be released soon and that, parallel to that, KEBS has been developing standards on rice fortification to guide the millers and those involved in the industry and even be adopted in the region.
Opiyo noted that through the Kenya National Food Fortification Alliance, they have mapped out areas that they would want to champion, and this has shown promise as one company has already launched their first fortified rice in Kenya.
Capwell Industries became the first manufacturer in Kenya to launch fortified rice in their prominent brands Pearl, Pishori, and Super Basmati. These two variants of pearl rice are now fortified with vitamins B6, folic acid, B12, iron, and zinc in all packets ranging from 1 to 10 kilogrammes.
“There are a lot of programmes that are also complementing the effort of the foods that we consume. Work is ongoing around biofortification looking at crops that can be agronomically produced with enriched vitamins and minerals, and this is an area that is growing,“ he said.
Considering that Kenya is an import country of rice, just like many in the region, Opiyo said it is time that countries negotiated on bringing in ready-produced rice that is already fortified.
The regional three-day meeting, Opiyo said, will not only look at the standards and data but also on how they can harmonise, facilitate, and enhance trade with each other for purposes of accessing fortified food for its people, as well as look for very tangible commitments even from political leadership on matters of fortification.
Afidra Oema Ronald, the Africa Network Coordinator, Food Fortification Initiative (FFI), said there are five foods in the region of Africa selected for food fortification.
He named wheat flour, maize flour, vegetable oil, sugar, and now rice, saying they are all food vehicles for food fortification and that they are used to carry different vitamins and minerals for health.
Afidra noted that with the demand for rice ongoing in Africa despite many countries not being able to meet the demand and also not producing more, it is the new kid on the block as many African countries are consuming it through importing from India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
In the African continent, he explained Nigeria is almost self-sufficient, and Tanzania is also producing, but only white rice, which is considered a carbohydrate.
“White rice is only carbohydrates and is not sufficient. We need to bring in the fortification technology considering women, children, and even youth are eating it a lot; it is quick to process, produce, and even cook,” he said.
Afidra, however, noted that the technology of breaking rice and producing it into rice flour and mixing with vitamins and minerals to reconstitute and produce rice kernels is very expensive and cannot be done effectively within African states.
“Most of the rice is produced outside Africa, and it therefore needs to be fortified from the point of production, whether in India, Bangladesh, or Vietnam.
The government role is in passing legislation, and my appeal to all across Africa is to pass the fortification laws, making them mandatory and universal while at the same time involving and engaging the private sector in food fortification.
Governments, Afidra said, should also be able to invest in research institutions to impact their programmes. “We have a lot of data gaps within Africa. Data on the impact of these different nutrients that we have. This is therefore a call for the private sector, government, and agencies to work together in a coordinated manner so that the micronutrient malnutrition deficiencies across Eastern and Southern Africa can be reduced like in other countries and continents.
Rice in the country has been gaining greater attention through the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, which highlighted the importance of safe, nutritious food through the improvement of fortification technology and standards.
Kenya is also working towards a reduction of rice imports by 50 per cent in the next five years, considering every year close to 800,000 metric tonnes are imported into the country, with production standing at between 150,000 and 200,000 metric tonnes, and this has continued to strain the government as every year substantial resources have to be committed to bridge the gap.
By Wangari Ndirangu
