Milk hawkers resist clamp down on business
Milk hawkers are up in arms over a decision to clamp down on their business weeks after the regulator accused them of selling adulterated raw milk.
The Kenya Dairy Board said on March 16 it had netted more than 12,000 liters of milk laced with hydrogen peroxide destined for Nairobi.
The board fingered hawkers whom it accused of selling close to 70 per cent of the milk sold in Nairobi laced with hydrogen peroxide and vowed to rein them in.
The chemical is mostly used in industries as mild bleaches in laundry detergents and production of home-made toothpaste.
According to the regulator, hydrogen peroxide is added into the milk by unscrupulous traders to lengthen its shelf life and make it whiter.
ADULTERATED MILK
But the hawkers have denied distributing adulterated milk.
Dairy Traders Association (DTA), which fashion’s itself as the umbrella body for milk hawkers, distanced its members from the unscrupulous trade, saying they were dealing with minimal stocks to discourage storage of the commodity.
“We are not using hydrogen peroxide because most of our members deal with small stocks that can be sold out in a day, we have also been trained on best milk practices to adhere with industry regulations,” said National Chairman Sammy Chiira.
Mr Chiira said the milk vendors had invested in legal models of milk distribution where traders have ditched baskets for milk bars and dispensers across the 17 regions where members are based.
It is approximated that milk hawkers sell 80 per cent of all milk.
