Category: Food Safety & Regulatory

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Sahel Consulting champions development of Nigeria’s National Dairy Policy to foster sector growth

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NIGERIA – Sahel Consulting, a leading African agriculture platform in Nigeria has lent its input to the develop a National Dairy Policy prepared by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, aimed to foster growth of the sector, boost local milk production and in turn discourage the importation of dairy products. Africa’s most populous country spends US$1.3 billion yearly on the importation of dairy products as the sector faces challenges that limit production of high-quality raw materials to produce dairy products. Muhammad Sabo Nanono, minister of Agriculture has further highlighted that over…

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Uganda Coffee Development Authority’s lab upgrades to new ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation

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UGANDA – The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) has announced that it will be transitioning its Coffee Testing Laboratory in Lugogo to the new ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 standard issued by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) under the European Union funded Market Access Upgrade (MARKUP) project for the coffee and cocoa value chain development in Uganda. The International Standard ISO/IEC17025 is used for the accreditation of competence of testing and calibration laboratories worldwide. According to ISO, all accredited laboratories in the world are supposed to transition to the new standard which…

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World Animal Protection raises alarm on superbug contamination on meat sold in Kenya’s retail stores

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KENYA – Nearly two years after an expose by a Kenyan media outlet on the rampant use of chemicals and preservatives by some butcheries and retailers to extend the shelf life of meat products, UK-based World Animal Protection has revealed that, a significant portion of chicken and pork meat sold in supermarkets is contaminated with bacteria or superbugs. Superbugs according to WHO are strains of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi resistant to most antibiotics and other medications commonly used treat the infections they cause. The World Animal Protection conducted a…

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India’s food service industry, delivery platforms to take a hit as new restrictions hamper movement

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INDIA – India’s foodservice industry is set to suffer a new set back after the state governments of Delhi and Maharashtra imposed new restrictions to curb the recent spike in Covid-19 infections. Delhi has put in place night curfews starting from 10 pm and ending at 5 am. Maharashtra state which includes Mumbai has, on the other hand, imposed a stricter curfew, starting at 8 pm and ending at 7 am. Additionally, Maharashtra has imposed a total lockdown during the weekend starting on Friday at 8pm and ending on Monday…

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New law seeking to regulate toxic metals in baby food tabled in US parliament

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US – A new law seeking to establish new maximum levels of toxic metals baby food has been tabled by legislators in the US Parliament in an effort to protect the health of the country’s youngest population. Formally introduced as The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, the bill particularly aims to regulate the levels of inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury found in baby food and cereal products. All of these heavy metals have been linked to cancer, chronic disease and neurotoxic effects, but it’s the damage that can…

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CBD safe for use in food as it does not cause liver damage- Validcare

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US – A new study conducted by Validcare at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that Cannabidiol (CBD) products do not cause liver damage when taken orally. The seven-month analysis which evaluated the impact of CBD on liver health through clinical trials involving 839 participants comes on the heels of a summer 2019 study involving mice that suggested that there may be a link between CBD and liver damage. Its results allay a lot of fears by food industry players who may have feared…

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Amazon says altering India’s e-commerce investment rules could erode investor confidence, hurt small businesses

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INDIA –  E-commerce retail giant Amazon has called on the Indian government not to alter e-commerce investment rules as such a move could dent investor confidence in the sector and potentially have devastating consequences on suppliers and small businesses. Amazon calls come against a backdrop of disquiet among Indian retailers that foreign e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart backed flipkart were creating complex structures to bypass federal foreign investment rules and damage small traders. Both Flipkart and Amazon have denied any wrongdoing and say they are helping small businesses in…

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UK food industry counts losses as post-Brexit hurdles cause 75% drop in exports to EU

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UK – Brexit is coming back to bite the UK food industry with many hurdles presented by the new boundaries between the UK and European Union causing a 75.5% year-on-year drop in food and beverage exports. This is according to the latest figures released by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) which also revealed a significant drop in exports to international markets in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. Apart from exports to EU falling, the reports which compared data from January 2021 to January 2020…

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Kenya launches digital platform to automate agricultural service delivery

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KENYA – Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives has launched the AFA Integrated Management Information System (AFA-IMIS) that automates its service delivery and business processes. The online system developed by Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya (AFA) with US$1.37 million funding from Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) through TradeMark East Africa was launched by Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya. The platform aims at providing efficient and transparent service to farmers and its stakeholders by reducing both the time and cost of acquiring services or products from the…

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Kenya launches new dairy industry regulations aimed to transform the sector

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KENYA – The Agriculture ministry of Kenya has introduced the Dairy Industry Regulations, 2021 to streamline the management of the industry, encourage investment and ensure safety of the products in a bid to boost both local and export trade. The new regulations are in the form of eight sets of directives touching on critical areas such as registration, traceability of produce, compliance, sales contracts and safety standards. During the launch of the regulations, the Kenya Dairy Board Managing Director Margaret Kibogy said that the laws were necessary as the sector…

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