Juice, tomato sauce join illicit goods list

Interior secretary Fred Matiang’i. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By EDWIN MUTAI

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Summary

• Contraband goods such as juice, tomato ketchup, sugar contain heavy metals — which can lead to kidney failure, liver damage and death.
• Kenya has started a campaign against what the government calls illicit goods to weed out products unfit for human consumption and to help local manufacturers.

Seized contraband goods, including sugar, tomato ketchup, fertiliser and juices have heavy metals, Interior secretary Fred Matiang’i told Parliament on Thursday.

The minister said a brief he received two weeks ago from the multi-agency team indicated that contraband goods such as juice, tomato ketchup, sugar contain heavy metals — which can lead to kidney failure, liver damage and death.

Kenya has started a campaign against what the government calls illicit goods to weed out products unfit for human consumption and to help local manufacturers.

Dr Matiang’i was, however, reluctant to confirm whether the sugar contains mercury, saying the statement he issued a week ago was “cautionary”.

“I am hesitant to commit myself in the absence of a conclusive test. As we sit, security teams are testing some of the sugar that is seized almost every night,” he said.

Dr Matiang'i told MPs that the impounded contraband goods contained harmful elements and that tests results that are expected by July 5 “would vindicate me”.

“It’s true some of the sugar we impounded is contaminated. It's possible many commodities we consume have that problem. I said that statement on mercury as a cautionary measure. I can’t rule out definitively that some commodities don’t have those chemicals,” he said.

The Cabinet secretary refuted claims that he caused alarm by stating that netted sugar is contaminated with mercury.

Dr Matiang’i said 1.4 million bags of seized sugar will not be released because the bulk is contaminated and linked to terrorism and corruption.

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Some of those are imports supposedly intended for transit to neighbouring countries then diverted to the local market with no import fees paid while others are disguised as imports of lower value, evading taxes.

Still, others are local counterfeits whose fitness for consumption have been called to question.

The head of Kenya Bureau of Standards, seven other officials at the agency and two businessmen were charged with attempted murder on Monday for