Food safety and the informal milk supply chain in Kenya

Abstract

Background: Informal dairy supply chains are important in Sub-Saharan Africa, both in terms of employment and nutrition for poor population. Their safety has been debated in the literature, with those in favour to their legalisation, arguing that boiling milk reduces sanitary risks for its consumption and the nutritional impact offsets those possible risks. While, the opposing side, highlighting that boiling milk does not eliminate all the contaminants that are found, and the long term sanitary and health impact should be a major concern for regulatory enforcement. The purpose of this case study, which focuses on food safety along a dairy supply chain in Kenya, the largest milk producer in Africa, is twofold: first, to review the different issues on food safety when consuming raw milk, and second, to extract lessons from a case study that follows an informal supply chain that operates in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in the Kiambu and Muranga counties in Kenya. This case study was based on semi-structure interviews to 29 stakeholders and participants of an informal dairy supply chain carried out in April–May 2019. The purpose of the interviews was to provide insights of the hurdles and food safety risks surrounding everyday activities of milk handlers. Results: The results indicate that the informal dairy sector is associated with low-quality milk and food safety risks. These assumptions are linked to several factors such as lack of contact and control from the sanitary and health authorities, lack of awareness regarding milk safety from both consumers and the different supply chain participants; and the poor operating conditions the informal market has. In addition, other aspects were the overall lack of hygiene, accountability, and infrastructure in the entire supply chain. Conclusions: In conclusion, greater focus should be put on improving food safety quality along the chain (e.g., through ensuring the application of Good Handling Practices like the use of food grade containers and the introduction control points). The reform of Kenya’s informal dairy market must focus on training to improve and increase the hygiene and safety practices of the informal operators to reduce the information gap that divides formal from informal.