Last week, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) suspended the sale of 10 cooking oil brands from top manufacturers such as Bidco Africa, Pwani Oil, Kapa Oil and Menengai.
According to KEBS, the products fell short of their standard for edible oils and fats – identified as KS EAS 769: KS 2019 – with regards to the quantity of iron.
The suspension raised safety concerns among consumers, with KEBS issuing ways through which Kenyans can check whether their cooking oil is fit for consumption.
How To Check If Cooking is Fit For Consumption
To check whether your cooking oil brand is fit for consumption, send the codes on the cooking oil containers to 20023 via SMS.
The codes are usually located below the KEBS standardization mark on the side of the containers.
“To check the validity of the quality marks on products sold or purchased, one should send the code (numbers) underneath the Standardization Mark logo to 20023.
“Type message SM# Code or ISM#code, for local and imported products respectively, and SMS to 20023 to get product manufacturing details and permit validity status,” KEBS said in a statement.
After sending the message, consumers will get a message with details of the products such as product, brand, manufacturer, issue date, expiry date and validity.
Should the details be different from the product, one is required to report the product to KEBS.
“If the details are different, invalid or not traceable to the platform, retailers should not purchase, stock or offer for sale the products but instead report to KEBS through toll-free number 1545 during official working hours 8.00 a.m to 1.00 p.m and 2.00 p.m to 5.00 p.m from Monday to Friday.
“Always validate the quality marks of the products stocked for sale and any person found offering for sale substandard products contravenes the law and is liable for prosecution,” KEBS stated.
