Concerns grow over safety, quality of food from farms

It’s a hive of activity as Caren Nekesa engages a group of attentive visitors at her stall. A variety of organic products are on display, which she picks up one by one, explaining their immense benefits.

As she interacts with attendees, Nekesa highlights the critical role organic farming plays in ensuring food safety.

She explains that organic agriculture relies on natural methods such as crop rotation, composting and biological pest control to maintain soil health and protect the environment. It avoids the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides.

“Food is not just food. You are what you eat. We need to produce safe, nutritious food and ensure proper preparation and balanced diets,” she emphasises.

Nekesa, a project officer with the Community Sustainable Development Empowerment Programme (COSDEP), was speaking during World Food Day celebrations held at the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in Lower Kabete.

She stresses that the future of the food system lies in the hands of farmers.

In response to the growing burden of lifestyle-related diseases, she says COSDEP promotes the use of natural herbs and superfoods like chia seeds, which are nutrient-rich and easy to cultivate.

“We work closely with farmers to reduce post-harvest losses and improve income through value addition,” she explains, adding. “Instead of relying solely on selling raw produce, whose market prices can fluctuate, we train farmers to process and package their products to increase shelf life and profitability.”

Also present at the exhibition were Yasmin Taib and Benson Kimani, Public Health Officers from Nairobi County.

They showcased the tools and equipment used during routine food safety surveillance and emphasised the importance of operating within a clear legal framework to ensure food safety.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food is essential for sustaining life and promoting good health.

“Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers,” WHO reports.

Globally, an estimated 600 million people, almost one in 10, fall ill after consuming contaminated food each year, with 420,000 deaths recorded annually.

Alarmingly, children under five years old carry 40 per cent of this disease burden, with 125,000 dying each year due to foodborne illnesses.

Safety concerns

Principal Public Health Officer for Food Safety and Food Fortification in Nairobi County Sammy Ole Kamwaro underscores the need for both safety and quality in food systems.

“As we celebrate World Food Day, we must ensure the food we consume is both safe and of high quality. This aligns with Article 43 of the Constitution, which guarantees every Kenyan the right to adequate and acceptable food,” he states. “It’s impossible to talk about food without addressing safety. You can have food in abundance that’s unsafe, or safe food that lacks nutrition. We must ensure both.

Kamwaro notes that Nairobi County has taken proactive steps, including the development of a Food Safety Policy and the recent enactment of the Nairobi County Food Safety and Fortification Act in 2024.

Additionally, upcoming regulations such as the Street Food Vending Regulations aim to address safety concerns in the informal food sector.

Dr Beatrice Kiage, a research scientist at APHRC under the Nutrition and Food Systems Unit, echoes the importance of safe food environments.

“Unless food is safe, it cannot truly be considered food. At APHRC, we emphasise that food must be grown, processed and prepared in safe environments. Contaminated or poorly managed environments compromise food safety and make healthy eating impossible.” She warns that unsafe environments also pose broader threats, including adverse effects on human health and the climate.

“For instance, growing food in lead-contaminated soil can lead to chronic illnesses, including cancers,” she says.

Dr Kiage raises ethical concerns about a growing trend where some farmers maintain separate farms-one with clean produce for family use and another treated heavily with chemicals for sale.

She stresses that despite existing food safety laws, enforcement remains a major challenge, often reactive rather than preventive.

To address this, she advocates for integrating scientific research with community engagement and knowledge to create sustainable food safety solutions.

Alexander Riithi, head of programs at the Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), says Kenya is grappling with a multi-layered food crisis, from unsafe food handling and weak infrastructure to underfunded agriculture and lax enforcement of standards.

“Food safety is a major concern. Even food produced in safe environments can become contaminated through the supply chain, during harvesting, transport, or marketing. This compromises both safety and nutrition,” he says.

Constitutional right

Riithi calls for a comprehensive, legally enforceable Right to Food Bill to systemically address these issues and uphold the constitutional right to safe, adequate, and nutritious food.

He also encourages the public to consider how this right, enshrined in Article 43 of the Constitution, is closely linked to broader issues such as public debt, budgeting, and corruption.

At the grassroots level, TISA works with farmers, traders and informal sector stakeholders to promote food rights and accountability.

At the national level, Riithi says they coordinate the Right to Food Coalition, which unites civil society and legislators in advocating for a robust Right to Food Bill. This legislation aims to operationalise Article 43(1)(c) of the Constitution.

On the global scale, the WHO’s Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030 provides a roadmap for addressing current and emerging food safety challenges, taking into consideration new technologies, and includes innovative approaches for bolstering food safety systems.