On August 19, The Standard published a chilling story on unsuspecting Kenyans exposed to cancer-causing micro-organisms daily in foodstuffs and processed food products.
Titled “Kenyans eating food contaminated with cancer causing toxins – survey,” the story reported that researchers recently found high levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin in samples collected from supermarkets in Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Kitale, Mombasa, and the Eastern region.
Although media before has highlighted foods contaminated with varied levels of mycotoxins such as aflatoxin and fumonisin, their high levels as Kenya Medical Research Institute recently found, calls for deeper media probing, on whether a scandal exists in distribution of cereals and foods unfit for human consumption.
The story quoted Dr Christine Bii of KEMRI’s mycology unit stating that Nairobi was found to have the highest amount of contaminated breakfast cereals with aflatoxin.
Staple meals such as breakfast cereals, maize and maize flour, wheat and wheat flour, beans, legumes, nuts and rice are among those found to be contaminated up to a whopping 50 per cent, the story reported.
The story expressed fears this could be one of the reasons why cancer cases have been spiking in the country. This is chilling information as many families already are spending their lifetime fortunes on cancer treatment.
Following this story, journalists should investigate if condemned cereals could be silently finding their way to millers and other food processors at throwaway prices through corrupt food chain deals.
Medical experts explain exposure to these toxins can cause a range of illnesses in humans, both acute and chronic, from cold and flu-like symptoms to immune deficiency, organ failure, and cancer.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, fumonisin can lead to oesophageal cancer, and liver and kidney diseases. Exposure to fumonisin during pregnancy increases the risk of certain congenital disabilities.
Media should call institutions such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards to seek a clarification on this matter of foods that are contaminated with high levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin finding their way to the market.
The Kenya Cereals and Produce Board needs to respond if the country could be stocking or importing improperly dried cereals, and foodstuffs which are also improperly stored, in the process leading to multiplication of moulds and fungi linked to mycotoxins.
More concern is that the KEMRI-led research is indicative of a geographic twist. For example, the story reported the survey found a high incidence of aflatoxin contamination in maize flour in Nairobi, at 48 per cent, with Kisumu having 18 per cent, and Mombasa recording 25 per cent.
Further, Kisumu and Mombasa presented the least contaminated foodstuff in their open-air markets and supermarkets. But the study found Eastern region to have 65 per cent, and Nakuru least with four per cent contamination of fumonisins.
The researchers end with a recommendation that a National Mycotoxin Control Surveillance team should be formed to protect the public from hazards associated with these mycotoxins exposure, which are associated with poor post-harvest handling of cereals and have caused deaths in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) in the past.
A 2020 Malawi preview report on “Climate Change Impact on Aflatoxin Contamination Risk in Maize Crop” showed that, meteorological conditions interlocked with climate change to induce significant changes in the distribution, type, and concentration of mycotoxins.
This invites journalists to interrogate the role of changing weather patterns and climate change in food harvest quality.
There being urgent need to adopt modern food technologies in field crop and postharvest management, journalists should follow researchers on new modern technologies to minimise toxins finding their way to the dining tables.
