Thousands of people suffer from food poison globally every year

By Tebby Otieno

‘‘What I can say about food safety is, like this my work someone might say it does not require hygiene but this is food, because when you come here I will slaughter for you chicken, I have to make sure I wash it in clean water in a clean environment. That way, even as you go cook that food, there will be no food poison. It will be very safe.”

Every food consumer has a variety of ways they use to identify safe food be it in farms, markets or hotels. In Nairobi’s informal settlement Kawangware market, a lady in her fifties who buys most food products from this market says she has created a network of food vendors who she buys specific food products from within this particular market. Apart from that she also uses her common judgments through observation

‘‘You know good things invite eyes in the market. I also look at the person who sells them and from the look, I am always able to tell this food is safe. There are those sensitive foods sometimes they are removed from dirty places and that has ever happened to me. That is why nowadays I make sure I buy food from those straight from farms. When I buy something like tomato I make sure I wash them well with soap before I use them” says Hannah Muchiri 

    Transportation is one way that leads to loss of quality of food regardless of all the measures put in place by producers. Stella Oboge who sells chickens to individuals and hoteliers in Nairobi says sometimes chickens reach her when some of them have broken wings or legs. Some even reach her when they have died in the process of transportation. She uses brokers in Bomet and Kericho who transports them to Nairobi whenever she places order

‘‘Once in a while some chicken will die because of long distance or maybe because they have suffocated because they have not eaten or taken water. Chickens are always safe because they are only tied on legs and transported through trucks. When they get here, we untie them and place them in this shelter” She says

Being in business, Stella needs to satisfy her customers and make sure they buy from her severally, this she says, means she has to make sure she sells healthy chicken

‘‘Actually most of my customers who come back request that I sell them exactly like the one I sold them last time because when they cooked they found it was good. I only sell (kienyeji) indigenous chicken and my customers love them because they are fed on vitamins, proteins and everything so by the time they are grown they have taken seven or eight months. Such chicken when brought here and you buy even its cooking process is different, you will eat it and take its soup as well” she acknowledges 

               The government of Kenya has set regulations controlling industries/producers for example Meat Control Act cap 356 controls the slaughter and processing of meat for human consumption. Stella who sells chicken has to follow all legal policies put in place for her business to continue operating

‘‘There are those people from the health department who come here, take wastes and saliva samples of chicken and tell us if the chickens are safe or not. What I can say about food safety is, like this my work someone might say it does not require hygiene but this is food, because when you come here I will slaughter for you chicken, I have to make sure I wash it in clean water in a clean environment. That way, even as you go cook that food, there will be no food poison. It will be very safe” She concludes

          The nature of work leads people to hotels. Some walk in to eat food and head back to their workplaces after a meal, while others host conferences within hotels and take meals as well during breaks between conference sessions. Some spend in these hotels before or after they travel to various places, they too eat in hotels. At least, each person once in a while finds themselves eating food in hotels, but who ensures that these foods are safe?  Carol Katuba a hotelier explains how they make sure their customers consume safe food

‘‘We identify suppliers who supply our products be it vegetable, meat and everything. As a hotelier you have to visit your supplier who is your source so when they bring them we have to do a delivery check that must meet health requirements, that means that they have to give you a medical certificate. We also have a person who inspects the food including how they were handled even before they were transported, are the dates in place and then look at the texture of the product. If it is meat they can open randomly any of the containers/packages and check the content of that meat and take a sample of it and take it to the lab. In case suppliers give us food which does not meet specification you have a right to return that product and change the day’s menu. Suppliers should also give prior notice when they are outsourcing products because we have to visit the farm and know how the product is natured for us to get tender and tastier meat free from antibiotics and insecticides” She explains

While commemorating World Food Day under the theme ‘‘Food safety, everyone’s business” June 7, this year, the World Health Organization, WHO pursued its efforts to mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of food-borne diseases globally.

A veterinary surgeon who has specialized in livestock production systems with extensive experience in poultry, says food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers and consumers. According to Dr Victor Yamo, everybody has a role to play from farm to table to ensure the food consumed is safe and will not cause damages to health

‘‘The critical thing is to understand that the world is losing about 420,000 people per year.1 in 10 people will suffer from food poisoning during the year which gives it a figure of about 600, 000 people suffering from food poisoning because of poor food safety. Ultimately when you look at the Kenyan context one of the big agenda item for President Uhuru Kenyatta is health and you cannot have a healthy nation unless the food that they eat is not causing negative impact on the population it has” Says Dr. Yamo

Dr. Yamo who has worked in the chicken industry for over twenty years says feed demand changes because of what the animal is supposed to do. However, he insists that chicken must have a balanced diet that is protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals and water

 ‘‘In all those things, good quality feed must also be without any chemical that causes problems to the animal whether its chicken, pigs or whatever. They must also be not having any bacterial contamination because part of the problem that we also have is feeding animals with spoilt food failing to understand that the reason why food should not be consumed by human is the same reason the same food should not be fed to animals” Concludes Dr Yamo

Kenyan former prime minister Raila Odinga is among prominent leaders who have ever been reported to have suffered food poisoning. According to an article by The Standard dated March 8th 2017, Odinga was treated at the Karen Hospital for food poisoning where he was treated and discharged. According to the article, Raila Odinga who is the current High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa was taken to hospital after he complained of stomach ache.

Health experts say the whole world is moving to a one health concept because how waste disposal is managed has an impact on vegetables one is trying to produce and how animal health is managed has an impact on the quality of product that comes through to ensure only safe food is consumed globally. In fact, 2019 research on consumer concerns shows that the quantity of food that human beings consume, depends on food safety and the production process. This means that food that is free from antibiotics is consumed in large quantities even if they are more expensive.