Tough Terms As Kenya Lifts Tanzania, Uganda Maize Imports Ban

All stakeholders dealing in maize imports would be required to be registered, the consignments coming in must be accompanied with certificate of conformity on aflatoxin levels and that traders have to issue details of their warehouses and the certificate of conformity should indicate that the aflatoxin levels complies with the maximum required levels of 10 parts per billion, the Ministry of Agriculture said. This comes a week after Kenya banned the importation of maize from two neighbouring countries, Tanzania and Uganda, after studies revealed higher than normal levels of mycotoxins. In a letter to the neighbours, the Kenya Agriculture and Food authority said they were "conducting surveillance on the safety of food imports into Kenya". Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain fungi and can be found in food. It grows on a variety of different crops and foodstuffs including cereals, nuts, spices, dried fruits, apples and coffee beans, often under warm and humid conditions.