 You're just in time for business news on Y24 channel. Very good evening and thank you so much for joining us here on Y254. My name is Miriam Massava. You can interact with me directly on social media that is Miriam underscore Massava. That is Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Today, on our discussion, you're talking about food safety in the country. Well, cases of aflotoxin has been reported. How safe is your plate of food? Food for thought. Be part of this discussion on our social media platform using the hashtag Y254Updates, Oregon Twitter's own Y254 that is our handle on Twitter. Yes, and to help me discuss this is, that is on my far left, that is Andrew Shonko, business analyst. Thank you so much for coming, Andrew. And we have Dorcas Jalamo, agriculture economist. Thank you so much for joining us here on Y254 Business News. Thank you. Yes, well, we've had cases of aflotoxin in our maize, peanuts, and even milk and meat. Using our food, the plate we have tonight or the plate we'll have tomorrow, you're not even sure if it's safe or not. But let me ask something very basic. What are the causes of aflotoxin? If I may start with you, let me start with Dorcas. I know she knows why I'm starting with her. Aflotoxins come in various ways. And unfortunately, we're only looking at it from the aspects of it came from the supermarket. So that's why maize, the maize flour and other products were withdrawn from the shelves. But in actual sense, it comes from the seeds, the supply of the seeds. It comes from the farmers, how they undertake their production. It comes from the processing, from how the food is distributed, from how it is stored in our shelves, and from how it is stored in our houses. So it's a whole chain link. Yes, it's not just the maize you purchase on there. No, no, no, unfortunately... The maize flour, you go to the supermarket and purchase it. Unfortunately, we all think it's the supermarket or the shops, that's where it comes from. But in real sense, it can come from anywhere. That's the truth, that's the harsh truth about it. So you all need to be vigilant. Yeah, and at the bar is a way of aflotoxin. To a common man, is he or she, are they aware of aflotoxin? I think they are not actually aware. And that is a missing link that is actually there so much. Because they're not being aware of what they're consuming. They're not being aware on how the product was produced, how the product was transported, how the product was handled through the whole value chain. The way it was packaged and so on. They don't actually realize on some of the impact and some of the effect that actually come along with the kind of food that they produce. And this is because there is no teaching and trainings on how the food that we eat is being processed and how it comes to learn actually to your plate. Okay, if this meaty house did not do that expose, maybe people who are not even aware of aflotoxin, their food and their milk and their meat and every other kind of food, is our food safety culture up to standard? Don't curse. Definitely not. And our focus has been on maize, but generally food safety of many products is at stake. We just focus on maize because it's a staple food. Everyone eats maize all the time and in large quantities. I think everyone is affected on this maize shortage. That's why much focus is on maize, but generally our food safety standards are not up to task. Even the vegetables you consume, if I ask you today, do you know the nutritional content of the skomariki you're eating? No, you don't. Again, if I ask you how aware are you of how to store your food, of how to prepare it, we are so blank and unfortunately, we're all pointing fingers. Oh, it's a supplier. Oh, it's the farmer. But one thing I'd like to enlighten us, it's all of us. It's a combined effort. Because do you know that you can buy the maize from, it's not the first time we've had these cases over drug toxins. Just that this case, it was on the supplier side, which are the maize distributors, rather the supermarkets, where we get our maize from. A while ago, it was NCPB because NCPB does bulk of the storage of maize and there were concerns of maize being contaminated. So NCPB is aware, then they're aware, just that you don't have the safety standards have not been implemented to the latter. But even us at the household level, I'll talk of the household level because you're the consumers. We determine what to consume. Even us at the household level, we are not aware, aware. And he's mentioned something that is key, something of awareness campaigns or trainings. But one thing we should know is that even if they were to train, they couldn't cover all households. So at some point, I insist and I insist, we're also, there's negligence on our part as consumers. I have a phone here. I have internet. How many of us just take time? Google is our friend who say that. How many of us take time and look at because it's about aflatoxins, but not everyone has access to smartphones? But how many? But if you compare technology in Kenya to other developing countries, we're way much ahead. Compared to Nigeria, compared to Tanzania, we're much ahead. But who is to be blamed for the contaminated means in the country, the rise of contaminated means in the country? Okay, let me say the government. Everything that happens is our government, our government. Of course, our government is mandated. That we have the Ministry of Agriculture, we have Ministry of Livestock, we have all these agricultural ministries that are mandated to ensure that whatever the citizens consume, it is their work. But that shouldn't mean that we are seated because the government will take care of it up to some level. You see, they could only reach the supermarket. No one went to our homes and looked at the means we are consuming and measure their aflatoxin levels. You'd be surprised by the way. Yes. Hey, is this story, this issue of aflatoxin and the contaminated means, is it true or is it just an expose on the media houses? I think it's not actually an expose because research has been done. And maybe other people, you know, Kenya, we have this culture of politicizing everything. Like saying, maize is a political crop. Yeah, it's a political crop and so on. People want to say that they want to kill their brands and so on. But in the essence, that is not the truth. There is actually a high level of truth on the expose that was done. And I'll mention two things that are actually been eating the people, greed and ignorance. We have this culture of if we want something, we'll use any means to get it. Like for example, people can actually, the agency that have been mandated to make sure that the product that come inside our country are actually safe for consumption. There are policies that has been put in place, but do we actually follow these policies to the latter? Sometimes there are cases where money is dished out for people who are in these agencies to actually allow this product to come into the country so that it can be sold to the common one engine. On the other side of the common one engine, we are asking a question of, do they actually consider some of the things that are actually being mentioned? This is something that came just a week ago, but it has been there for some times. In 1981, it was there. In 2004, we had a case in McQueen where 100 people died and it was actually the course of Aflatoxin. But there are no measures that were put in place. We are so reactive, instead of being proactive, it happened, put policies in place and make sure it doesn't happen again. Yeah. A few days ago, we saw caves coming out strong and burning a few millers. Is it just an attack to these millers or is it genuine? Were they waiting for these media houses to expose it? Or where is the missing link? Go-kaz. Wow. What a question. Yes. We have very many missing links. He's talking about policies. Surprisingly, Kenya is one of the countries that has one of the best policies in the developing world context. And countries have borrowed our policies and implemented them. So our problem is the implementation. Like caves, caves have standards. I'm sure if you go to the caves offices, there are standards and procedures before a product is released to the market. Yes, they follow it, but not to the latter again, I insist. Of course, there's corruption. We cannot show corruption in Kenya that someone went at a caves office. It's been there in the news several times. A caves officer went to the field, did the surveillance or the standards or the protocols they use to assess or ascertain that this product is free from a flatoxins. And they got the reports, but some of them are compromised and they released the maize into the market. But if you see something of the sort happening, trust you may give it time. You'll hear of cases of people have been infected. The bomb is just about to blow. It's just about to go boom. It's a ticking bomb. Yeah, it's a ticking bomb. Because if you assess clearly, we had peanut butter just before maize, those peanut butter. Do you know if flatoxins are higher in peanut butter than any other crop? The number one crop that's most accessible to a flatoxins is peanuts. Peanut butter. Yes. And then followed by these other cereals, which is maize, even rice has. But we're saying rice is the surface food at the moment. No, no, no, no. Rice has chances of a flatoxins, just that actually they are like, I think 13 or 14 varieties of a flatoxins. And there's just this one that is very harmful for human consumption and also animal consumption. So they are botanics, yes. And I blame kebs, yes. And again, I don't blame kebs because what I know, what kebs does is, I've mentioned, they test the product. But it shouldn't stop at that, that they don't do it once, like I did it in January and then I leave it. They're supposed to do it like randomly. So, and again, there's no a flatoxins. There's no way you can eliminate a flatoxins 100%. They have to be there. Just the standard level that if it surpasses, it's very harmful for consumption. You cannot have maize that is 0% of flatoxins. So, yes, I blame kebs, their loopholes, especially when it comes to this large maize meal, even the smaller ones. The smaller ones that are at a higher risk because they don't have the right correct mechanism. They don't have the capital they need to implement or rather to make sure their products are free from a flatoxins. The large millers on the other hand have the capability, but their loopholes in following the standard protocols and procedures, because these a flatoxins have to be tested for. Okay, okay, and really let me ask you, do these the common farmer back in Tanzania with one acre of land he has planted and he wants to go sell his maize to national cereal and produce bought. Do, does he know the importance of testing the maize before selling it? Actually they don't know. They totally don't know. But sometimes we can say they are ignorant. Or they have not been sensitized. They have not been sensitized. We need actually to devolve some of these things because if we mandate the issue of maybe checking their flatoxin level to only maybe the NCPB and maybe kebs, we need actually to devolve some of these things. Like before the product is sold from the farmer, it needs to be tested. Is it the harm that it will cause to these consumer and so on? That's why at the beginning I said the value chain need to be checked from the beginning to the end. Before that product is even planted. Before it's planted it needs to be checked, how it grows, the kind of chemicals that are applied. And we are saying actually a flatoxin is not only in maize. We find maybe meat, milk. Because if these products are fed, because when you have a sack of maize that cannot be sold, it's actually fed to chicken. It's fed to cows. And at the end of the day, the same products that will come from those animals will actually be fed by animal, by human being. You will think that you have escaped this thing and it will actually follow you to the end. So sensitization need to be taken to the ground level. Sensitize people. Let people know the kind of product they are taking. Let people know that they can take action when they find these products that are not good for consumption. People are still buying the product that will actually be bought. That's why I'm asking. The extension officers, are they sleeping on their job? Of course, of course, by large, by large they are doing so. Because let's say for example, I have let's say 1000 bucks. And maybe this 1000 bucks was supposed to give me maybe 2 million or 3 million shillings. And then you come and you tell me that these products that I have have aflatoxin and they need to be maybe discarded. If I tell you that maybe I'll give you like a million, making a million in a day. Of course they'll be compromised. You know the national serial and produce borders are sure Kenyan that the maize is safe for human consumption. But we find the maize, the flour, we buy in the supermarket and the shops, is contaminated. Maybe, NCPB may be right. Because they are the main grain reserves. But maybe the grains they received. Whether they have this equipment for measuring moisture. Actually aflatoxins is a fungal infection. And if fungal is given the conducive environment, it will continue growing. So they have mechanisms and tools and equipments You'll find like every few hours they measure moisture, they measure temperature, so that they regulate. So maybe from their end. And I'm not coming to their serial rescue, from their end. But the time they are receiving this maize from the farmer, it was okay. So we can't really blame NCPB. But what happens after it's released to the millers? How was it transported? Was it put in sacks? Was it just laid, was it exposed to moisture? Another thing, who follows this due procedure of from NCPB? When there was a time, this natural residue would claim that their storage is full. So the maize was being reined on. Couldn't this be a cost of it? I know they received it was okay. But how long ago was that? How long ago was that? What's the time period between when the maize was reined on and now they have aflatoxins we're having? It can't be over one year, because we consume maize literally. A lot of maize. It was a step of food, yeah? Yes. So how long ago was it for us to blame NCPB? And by the NCPB, when they cannot take any more, they don't take, that's why farmers complain. We took our maize, it was rejected. So chances are, that maize was returned to a farmer, I stand to be corrected. That maize that they rejected because their storage was full, was returned to a farmer. This farmer sold their maize to brokers. These brokers collected maize from 100 farmers in a village. These brokers took their maize to the local millers. No one measured that. So we cannot entirely blame NCPB. Yeah, we also need to sense phrase our farmers, that when my maize is due, and I've taken it through NCPB, and I take it back home. How do I extol it? You wanted to add something, yeah? Yeah, maybe I can jump in. NCPB, how can NCPB authorize the return of maize that actually them, they feel like this maize is not actually good for consumption. We need to actually look into policies of standardization that have actually been stipulated so clearly by CABs. Because when we are exporting a product outside the country, we actually make sure that this product is so standardized in a way that when it goes to that other country in which we are exporting the product too, it doesn't have any issue that will come or because we want to protect the market. Why are we protecting the market? And charity actually begins at home. Let's first protect ourselves, make sure that the product that we are taking is not good, sensitize this, let people know that this thing will come and cause effect too. If, let's say for example that product is returned, maybe they are told that just take, we are not going to take this product. That product will actually go to the market and in a way it will actually find its way back to the cereals, to our cereals because if it's sold to those regerager people, people will consume it or maybe in the NCPB, they are actually people who are crooked. They'll actually be able to accept this product when other eyes are not watching. And do sometimes mill a buy direct from the brokers? But brokers run the market, the market system in Kenya. Brokers run it because how many large scale farmers do we have for them to supply directly to the large millers? How many? Then, actually a majority of our production is small scale. So for a mill, there's no way the large millers will go door to door to a farmer. They'll have to use brokers. A broker wouldn't farm anything by the way. So the marketing system is run by brokers literally. But I'd like to point out one thing that he said, I'd like to echo it, that the implementation, it's funny how our multicultural sector that answers export has stressability standards. They can actually trace your tomatoes and up to your farm. Like from every step, it came from so-and-so's farm. It went to this exporter and it reached the European market. Why can't we borrow that for mails? That's what he's mentioning, that we are not protecting charity begins at home. So for the European markets, they are standardized. They can trace your produce from weight up to the supply of the seed. So that if the problem was not the farmer, the problem was the seed company. And they actually see or decline your produce. So why can't we borrow? Because Kenya signed the Eurogap pact that they'll follow these standards. Why can't we borrow those standards for mails, for these staples that you consume locally? And it will be much cheaper and easier to implement at the local level. Speaking of local level, they see a few days ago, he brought in the issue of trans-boundary trade. And we've also seen that there's a point in the year where we lack mails, since it's our staple food. There's low production of mails. So we have to trade from Tanzania, Uganda, and you are not sure if that mails is safe. I think I'll question that. Do we actually lack mails in Kenya? It's a political problem. You can never tell. You will find at some point, what they normally do is create a need. When you create a need, of course demand will go high. And when the demand will go high, if let's say, for example, this product that we're actually discussing here has been stored somewhere because there are farmers who have their own stores and you can bear witness with this one, their brokers, they buy mails, make sure that that mails can actually stay from four to five months, waiting when the demand will be high and then it will be released to the market. So when we blame the interboundary trade, how is that mails coming in from other countries without being tested? Who is allowing that product to come into our country to be consumed by our people without actually being tested and seeing that this is good for human consumption? So we cannot actually put a blame on interboundary trade whereby we have policies that have been put in place on the type of product that can be imported and consumed by the people of our country. Yes. You want to address something? Yeah. I actually get depressed when I think that we import mails in the 21st century in Kenya. Kenya cannot afford to import mails because, first of all, we are capable of producing even saplers and export our mails because what mails are we importing from Mexico? Yellow mails that they, I mean, I mean, we're importing yellow mails and we have white mails, how? So there's, actually, import is killing our mails industry because those countries we're importing from are producing at a lower price and selling at a lower price. Of course, when it gets here, the price is tripled and then our farmers who toiled their mails remain with their produce. So if there's anything to go by in post should be eliminated completely because still, with the production we do, we lose 10% post harvest, 10% which is over, I don't know how many million tons per year. So if we could put proper post harvest handling strategies, we don't need to import mails in the 21st century in Kenya, by the way. We do not, we don't need to import. Going down to our two health matters, okay. People do not know the impact of aflatoxin on human health. They imagine maybe it's just, maybe diarrhea or vomiting but there are long term impact on our health, yes. I think one of the major, major, major impact that has been discussed and recorded day in, day out is the impact that aflatoxin is having on cancer, especially the liver cancer and liver seahorsies and so on. So this is one of the issue that Kenyans are discussing and they're saying, why are we having the cases of cancers increasing day in, day out? For example, if we go to a hospital today, a big number of people who are admitted, they are actually going through chemo's, others are actually going through cancer treatment and so on. So one of the major impact that is going to dent us now, tomorrow and even in the future, before actually being able to implement this policy because for example, in 2009, the means that were actually being discussed that came into the country, look at the impact. It's being, the impact is being felt 10 years later and it is the report that has actually been filed by the then Kebs CEO about the impact of aflatoxin to the human body is actually being felt right now and this is just a beginning. What can we do to actually be able to see that in the next, let's say for example, 10 years from now we'll be able to reduce this number and be able to go back to where we were as a nation? We're coming to that because there's a report on that. Agricultural researchers are now calling for adoption of genetically modified maize to contain the rise of aflatoxin contamination. Regina Tende, that's a maize breeder at Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization says GMO maize is a system to pass the courses breakage in maize, creating a breeding ground for the fungi that courses aflatoxin. This comes after Kenya Bureau of Standards suspended like five brands of maize flower on Saturday on concerns of high levels of aflatoxin contamination. Researchers say GMO maize is resistant to stem borers and fall armyworm that courses breakage in maize before and after harvest, creating a conducive environment for the spread of toxin that course aflatoxin research conduct at the Kiboko and Kitalebeete maize trials reveals that GMO maize is high yielding and has a low cost of production compared to convection maize. The Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization is waiting for approval before conducting a national field trial and commercial of GMO. Let me come to you, Dorcas. Is GMO the way forward? What are the measures going to put in place to avoid such cases? I remember some three years back, the same way they are politicizing maize, GMO's politicize don't say. Yeah, I remember. And I think not we almost failed, we failed to implement it. But, okay, GMO is the way to go. It is. It's the way to go. Of course there are health concerns, there are health issues, but GMO is the way to go because we have our grain population. We have reduced land sizes. We have climatic changes in rainfall and temperature. So our maize is not doing the same way it used to yield. So for certain ability of our population, GMO is the way to go. But when it comes to health issues, there's so much research that needs to be done to ascertain the health status of the GMO foods. And not only for maize. Final comments, wind up. My final comments would be, we also need to be self aware. We also need to be alert with the technology and all that we have at our disposal. It's good to educate yourself and know how to control the flatoxins. And it comes to your doorstep. Thank you so much. And final comments that we thought. Quickly, the two. One, we need not to be ignorant because when a report like this one comes out, let us not politicize it. Let us look into it as an individual and as a state. Secondly, there are policies that have been there on food security. And we have agencies that has been mandated to ensure that the kind of food that Kenyans are consuming is actually at par. Let them do their work and ensure that we are safe from any kind of food that can actually enter our health. Well, thank you so much. That was Andrew Shonko, Business Analyst and Orcas Delango, Agriculture Economist. That brings the end to our discussion today. We're talking about food safety. We can keep this conversation going on our social media platform. You can find me directly at Miriam Underscore, my server that is Twitter and Instagram. Hashtag to use is Y254 updates. Don't go anywhere because coming up next is the bus. Good night and God bless you.