Open search page

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

1 July 2025

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – 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 (KO.N), opens new tab and Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab 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 U.S. and India, but the Kenya report, alongside one from Tanzania, is the first of its kind in an African country.

The non-profit found last year that products sold by the world’s biggest food and drink companies in poorer countries were on average less healthy than those sold in richer countries.

Read the full article here
email dropdown linkedin facebook twitter icon_input-select BMS Close Download Hamburger Performance Pijl Plus Product-Profile Share google-doc-tracking-XL Performance comparison-tool egagement-tracker-tool