The highly hyped food seasoning, Aromat, may be withdrawn from Kenyan markets. This is after it became apparent that its ingredients included maize flour from genetically modified maize.
Kenya has restrictive legislation on GM maize that have locked out major exporters including South Africa from the local market.
“From here, we will issue a circular to ensure that all the Aromat is removed from the shelves,” said chief public health officer Kepha Ombacho when he met the parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives in Nairobi on Tuesday.
“We work by doing general surveillance which is a continuous routine process and want to assure you that we will take action as per our mandate,” he added.
The pledge came after Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo alerted the committee of Aromat ingredients, prompting the directive from the Health ministry.
“Why is Aromat being sold under our watch while there is a ban on such food products? Kenyans are thus consuming GMOs unknowingly,” Mr Maanzo said while displaying a sample of the food seasoning.
According to him, it was improper that the advertisement promoting Aromat failed to clarify or mention that it had genetically modified ingredients.
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