No, popular Kenyan milk brand did not fail toxic chemicals test
IN SHORT: According to online claims, the Mount Kenya milk brand was found to contain harmful chemicals in tests by the Kenya Bureau of Standards. The posts use a fabricated graphic and the bureau has confirmed the claims are false.
Several posts claim that a popular brand of milk in Kenya causes cancer and other serious health issues.
Many of the posts circulating online include a Tuko-branded graphic showing two packets of Mount Kenya milk, which appear to be inflated or overfull.
Text in the graphic reads: "Mt. Kenya milk was tested by KEBS and found to contain chemicals that may cause brain cancer and blindness in humans."
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), along with other key agencies, ensures that milk and other food products are safe.
A blog post adds more detail, claiming that 801 milk samples were collected from supermarkets in cities like Nairobi, Meru, Embu and Mombasa. According to the blog, 622 were found to contain harmful chemicals and deemed unsafe.
It also claims that these chemicals can cause serious health problems, including cancer, kidney failure, stunted growth in children, reproductive problems and gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Together, the posts have received over 325,000 views and hundreds of comments.
Context and background
Milk is one of the most consumed products in Kenya. It is processed by several companies, including the Meru Central Dairy Cooperative Union, best known for its Mount Kenya brand.
As with other food products, milk is regularly tested to ensure safety. Contaminants such as aflatoxins, pesticides, heavy metals and mycotoxins can occur due to poor processing. Aflatoxins, in particular, are carcinogenic and can occur when livestock consume contaminated feed.
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Kenya has faced concerns over contamination, including high aflatoxin levels and harmful preservatives.
The posts claim that Kebs has confirmed that the Mount Kenya brand is highly toxic. If accurate, this would raise serious public health concerns.
But are the claims true? We checked.
No evidence for Mount Kenya milk claims
The blog does not specify which body carried out the alleged study it refers to. We searched and found no such recent or credible study.
The graphic circulating on social media bears the branding of the popular Tuko news website. But we also found no such story on Tuko's official website or social media accounts. Instead, the website flagged a blurred version of the same graphic as fake, clarifying that it did not originate from their platform. Kebs also flagged the graphic as fake.
In addition, the brand's owner posted signed statements on Facebook from Kebs and the Kenya Dairy Board, both dated 24 March 2025, stating that Mount Kenya products are tested and meet all required safety standards.
