Naivas Supermarkets, Kenya’s largest retail chain, has said that claims of expired products on its shelves are “misleading” and “potentially harmful” in an ongoing dispute with Nairobi City County.
- •The dispute begun when Nairobi County Assembly Health Committee chair Maurice Ochieng said that an inspection of a Naivas branch had “found expired products being stocked.”
- •He added that a second inspection at Naivas and Carrefour, a franchise of the similarly named French giant, branches had found that most food handlers were not tested and certified.
- •In its response to the subsequent order to close all branches in the capital city, Naivas disputed the findings, and said that it was fully compliant.
“No Naivas branch has been closed by any regulatory or health authority,” the retailer said in a statement on Wednesday evening, “All our stores remain fully operational and compliant with all national and county-level standards set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the Ministry of Health, and relevant bodies.”
According to the MCAs, the branches would remain closed until the retailers had conducted product tests and been cleared by the Health Committee. They also urged the County Chief Health Officer, Suzanne Silantoi, to “make sure that Nairobians are safe with food.”
“Naivas has a very strict anti-bribery and corruption policy,” the retailer added in its statement, further suggesting it views the dispute and subsequent closure order as “extortionary tactics.”
