Eva Nyambura
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has warned businesses that are bottling and supplying water without legal licenses.
Speaking during a stakeholder forum, the KEBS Managing Director, Charles Ongwae revealed that 157 companies are illegally operating in the country by failing to obtain proper certification to run their business.
Mr Ongwae said that the group of illegal business holders are promoting unfair trade with their operatins by failing to meet required standards hence increasing the number of products in the market and not all are paying and obtaining valid product certification marks.
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Other violations include companies operating from unknown locations, poor and misleading labeling, disregarding requirements of the water standards such as the code of hygiene, using suspect sources of water, hence posing health risks to the consumer.
There are currently 426 firms with valid permits to bottle water.
KEBS announced new requirements such as automation of bottle filling and sealing to safeguard on hygiene practices.
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