Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has ordered hundreds of water bottling companies to suspend operations.
Kebs Managing Director Charles Ongwae, on Wednesday, May 11, gave a list of of 368 water bottlers whose licences had been suspended for failing to meet set quality standards.
“The affected companies should stop producing and selling bottled water immediately,” said Ongwae.
According to Kebs, there are 600 registered water bottlers operating in Kenya.
Kebs boss in Mombasa county, Martin Nyakiomo, had already banned five bottled water brands.
According to Nyakiomo, tests that were carried out on the water showed presence of coliform bacteria as a result of faecal contamination and poor hygiene standards.
The move came barely a month after Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner-General John Njiraini claimed that over 60% of water and juice products in Kenya were counterfeit.
