Kenya's Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has launched a consumer awareness campaign called 'Chagua Safe, Chagua Smart' (Choose Safe, Choose Smart), encouraging Kenyan households to pay closer attention to the fortification of everyday staples such as flour and pulses. The campaign builds on Kenya's long-running food fortification programme, which made maize and wheat flour, edible oils and fats fortification compulsory in 2012 following mandatory salt iodisation introduced as far back as 1978.
Kenya's Ministry of Health has separately reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening fortification compliance, telling a high-level panel at the World Health Assembly in Geneva that the country has made significant progress on maize and wheat fortification through government leadership, industry collaboration and investment in quality assurance systems. Officials say more than 80 percent of wheat flour and 87 percent of vegetable oil consumed in Kenya is now fortified, with rice fortification also being scaled up in partnership with international nutrition organisations to reduce the country's broader burden of micronutrient deficiency.
