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{
    "id": 1278533,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1278533/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 252,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Rangwe, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Lilian Gogo",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "establish a national office of food and feed safety controller. It will be important because such an office has never existed. I do not want to oppose it if it has been deemed to be there. As we are aware, the challenge in Kenya is implementing what exists. We want to create an extra office, whereas we have too many unemployed university graduates who are food and feed safety experts rotting out there. We have many graduates who have studied food science. As you have rightfully said, I have a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree in Food Safety. I studied how to eliminate carcinogens that are found in sausages by way of nitrites and nitrates. I wanted to get a natural means of making sausages pink in color but also making them last. That is done by nitrites and nitrates, which, if not used at safe levels, have been found to cause cancer. I worked with a natural source by using fermented cabbage to do what is technically called ‘curing of meat.” Fermented cabbage produces a substance akin to what is conventionally made using nitrites and nitrates. That particular project was sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which I owe for life. We have had instances of food poisoning in our schools. We have lost several lives in one way or the other because of unsafe foods. There are basic components of food safety that we need to practice even at home, such as keeping food products at the right temperatures and separating raw food from cooked food. We must practice basic hygiene to keep our foods and feeds safe. It is also important that people trained in food safety be allowed to work where there is massive food production, like in our schools. Basic components of food and feed safety management already exist in science, especially in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematical engineering of food. We have the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) concept used in producing safe foods and monitoring and evaluating such processes. We also have good manufacturing practices that use clean wares and utensils. We also have the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22000 certification, which is used for food safety management, and the ISO 22003, which is the Food Safety Management Systems Audit. Altogether, these should help us manage the safety of our foods and feeds. The Bill covers a very large area, as a Member has rightly indicated. It would be important that we amend it to separate the component of feeds from the component of foods. We should manage feeds from the point of production to the point of animal consumption so that they do not consume carcinogenic products that would end up giving us unsafe food. Also, in our phytosanitary practice, we need to monitor the use of fertilizers or sprays that take care of our plants so that plants that end up as food are safe. It is also important to look at post-harvest technology so that our grains do not cause us problems. What bedevils us as a nation, which I fear, is that there could be a probability that someone sat down and thought of this office. This Bill is well intended, but I am curious whether we are creating an office for someone. That is what I am worried about. We already have KEBS responsible for food and feed safety and control. We have established international standards. I can see my dear friend laughing. It is very common in Kenya that we sit in the House and debate such matters when we consciously know we are creating an office for a specific person because we want to be nice. When the job is advertised, we target a specific person. Going through this Bill, it has nothing to do with food and feed safety control coordination. It is more or less a creation of an office for an individual. Is that what we want? If it is well intended, I will not block it because it will create a job for one food scientist or someone who has studied animal science. I am comfortable with that. Either way, our food, and feed must be safe. We will have to amend the Bill at some point. If it suits the purpose, then we should have two separate offices. An officer should be at the apex of dealing with food safety control. At the next level, an officer should be in charge of feed safety control. At the end of the day, we want to meet international standards. We want to be seen giving food and feeds that are safe to consumers. This can control the springing up of lifestyle diseases like The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}