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Most packaged food in Kenya would need health warning label under new rules: report

Most packaged food in Kenya would need health warning label under new rules: report

TimesLIVEa day ago
Almost all of the packaged food and drink sold in Kenya by local and international companies would require a health warning label under newly drafted government rules, according to an independent report shared with Reuters.
Kenya released its nutrient profile model this month, and committed to using it to develop front-of-package labels.
The report by the non-profit Access to Nutrition Initiative found that under those rules, 90% of products sold by both international companies like Coca-Cola and Nestle and local firms such as Brookside Dairy Ltd and Manji Foods Industries contained either too much salt, sugar or saturated fat.
Around two-thirds of the products would also be deemed "unhealthy" based on models used internationally like Nutri-Score, which — unlike the Kenyan model — also take into account positive nutrients.
Neither the Kenyan government nor the companies responded to requests for comment.
ATNI has previously tracked products globally and in countries like the US and India, but the Kenya report, alongside one from Tanzania, is the first of its kind in an African country.
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