KEBS suspends peanut butter manufacturers permits

The Kenya Bureau of Standard (KEBS) has confirmed presence of excess aflatoxin content, known to cause cancer, on Nuteez Peanut Butter.

The agency has suspended the permit of Jetlak Food Limited producers of Nuteez, Mother’s nature and Triclover makers of Clovers Nuts Smooth and Clovers Nuts Chocolate, food manufacturers citing that their products are not fit for human consumption.

This comes three days after findings from the Government Chemist in Nandi County found aflatoxin contamination of unto 24.08 parts per billion on Nuteez peanut butter.

The brands product contain 44.25 parts per billion (ppb) on Clovers Nuts Chocolate, 36.44 ppb on Clover Nuts smooth and 27.26 ppb on Mother’s Nature  which exceed the KEBS specification limit to a maximum of 15ppb.

The companies, therefore, will no longer use the KEBS standardization mark to label their products and suspend manufacturing or selling of the sub-standard peanut butter.

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In a statement, KEBS noted, “Manufacturers whose products have been suspended are instructed to discontinue the manufacturing or offering for sale all substandard peanut butter. The agency will continue to undertake surveillance of the products at the factory and market to ensure that the public is protected from harmful products.”

“As a result, the KEBS has also suspended the permit to the company that allows it to use the standardization mark for its Nuteez brand and the firm directed to recall all the products in the market,” added the regulator.

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Aflatoxin are natural toxin products that are found on crops such as peanuts, tree nuts, maize and cotton seed. Consuming them can result to life threatening conditions and are widely known to damage the liver and kidney, hence cancer in the vital organs.