KEBS opens Sh100m testing facility in Meru to strengthen fight against substandard goods
Business
By
Phares Mutembei
| Jul 30, 2026
Consumers, farmers and manufacturers in the Mt Kenya region are expected to benefit from faster product testing and certification following the operationalisation of a Sh100 million Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) laboratory in Meru which is aimed at curbing substandard and illicit goods.
The state-of-the-art facility will enable KEBS conduct quality tests closer to producers and markets, reducing the need to transport samples to Nairobi while enhancing surveillance against products that pose health, safety and environmental risks.
KEBS Director of Quality Assurance and Inspection Dr Geoffrey Muriira said the laboratory is equipped to test a wide range of products across different sectors, allowing inspectors to carry out both market surveillance and production-based quality assessments more efficiently.
"KEBS has invested over Sh100 million in setting up the laboratory which is capable of testing various parameters in the field, whether at the market level or in the production facility," said Muriira.
He said the laboratory would particularly benefit farmers by providing timely testing services for agricultural inputs and produce, helping them verify the quality of products before use.
READ MORE
Auditor General, budget boss flag growing appetite for public debt
Auto industry shifts gears as locally assembled vehicles demand rises
New continental competition rules set for December
Here's why your roof faded fast
Satellite towns: Magnet for property investors seeking affordable land
Moody's gives Kenya Re stable outlook
Somali blueprint becomes survival guide for Kenyan NGOs amid aid exodus
Millie Odhiambo urges women engineers to pursue leadership and political office
"This is to encourage farmers to make use of the laboratory to ensure that whatever feeds they are getting from the market are of the right quality," he said.
Muriira said the facility will also ease access to testing and certification services, reducing costs and turnaround times which were previously associated with sending samples to laboratories outside the region.
"The laboratory will help us undertake certification activities and issuance of the Standardisation Mark within the shortest time and also help us to enforce compliance according to the standards in the market," he said.
The facility is also expected to strengthen food safety monitoring in Meru, where aflatoxin contamination in maize has remained a concern.
KEBS Mt Kenya Region Manager Jacqueline Kangiri said the agency had installed an aflatoxin testing facility capable of producing results within hours, enabling faster intervention to protect consumers from contaminated food.
"Meru is one of the counties cited for high levels of aflatoxin contamination, especially in maize. We have installed an aflatoxin testing facility to do the analysis and provide the results in a matter of hours," she said.
Kangiri said KEBS had intensified market intelligence and surveillance operations to detect and remove counterfeit and substandard products from the market.
"The aim is to protect the people from products that pose health, safety and environmental risks," she said.
She added that the standards agency was working closely with small and medium-sized enterprises to improve compliance with quality standards, enhance product safety and expand access to local and international markets.
"This will ensure the doors to the market are open to them and they are able to trade better, and the goods are safe for consumption," Kangiri said.