Naivas Supermarket has suspended the sale of red meat across all its stores countrywide pending the results of independent testing of its meat and assessment of its supplier base.
Naivas Chief Commercial Officer Willy Kimani on Thursday said the decision had been taken in the interest of its customers and “will involve subjecting the whole stock of red meat to a thorough independent lab test and a step by step verification of each participant along the whole meat value chain”.
“We will only be selling white meat for now in all our butcheries,” Kimani said in a statement.
The supermarket outlet, he said, is cooperating with the national and county governments’ agencies to address the issue.
This came shortly after governors Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Mike Sonko (Nairobi) shut down meat sections in their respective counties.
Governor Mutua ordered the closure of all butchery sections in Naivas stores in Machakos county, while Sonko closed six meat sections in major supermarkets within CBD and its surroundings.
In Nairobi, Tuskys Supermarket along Kenyatta Avenue was shut down after samples indicated that the meat has 63,000 milligrams of Sodium Metabisulfite per kilogram.
The action comes after the recent media expose showing chemicals used by retail chains across the country in the preservation of meat products.
Kimani restated that customer welfare remains paramount for the firm and that Naivas does not use or condone the use of any chemical preservatives for meat products.
He reiterated that the company will take strong legal action against anybody found to have supplied contaminated meat to Naivas.
