KEBS says some manufacturers have used fruit-juice permits to market jaba juice, even though khat-derived products are excluded from its certification scheme.
KENYA – The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) says it has revoked certification permits in identified cases of misuse after finding manufacturers using fruit-juice and fruit-drink approvals to market khat-infused beverages.
In a public notice, the standards body said permits issued for approved products do not extend to drinks containing khat, commonly marketed as jaba juice.
KEBS said it has not issued Standardisation Mark permits for any khat-infused beverages. Manufacturers and traders displaying the mark, or claiming KEBS certification for these products, are therefore misrepresenting their certification status.
The notice concerns beverages containing miraa or muguka and explains that khat and khat-derived products are currently excluded from KEBS’s product-certification scheme. The bureau attributes the exclusion to regulatory considerations involving khat and its psychoactive constituents, including cathinone and cathine.
A manufacturer’s permit for an approved fruit drink cannot be used as evidence that a different formulation has also been certified. The bureau’s clarification makes the scope of each product permit central to the enforcement action.
KEBS said the misuse may attract action under the Standards Act, Cap. 496, and that market surveillance would continue.
Its notice did not identify affected manufacturers or brands, disclose the number of permits revoked, or provide the individual revocation decisions. It also did not set out a product-by-product recall.
For consumers, the presence of a KEBS mark on a khat-infused drink should therefore not be taken as proof that the beverage has been certified.
The bureau advised the public to check product-certification status through its official channels, including SMS 20023, and to report suspected misuse through the toll-free number 1545.
The action addresses the use of certification claims on the drinks. The notice does not announce a general ban on khat, and it does not present laboratory findings establishing contamination in the beverages concerned.
For fruit-juice manufacturers, the warning reinforces that a certification permit applies to the approved product scope. Extending that claim to another product can expose the permit holder to enforcement, even where the business already holds certification for other drinks.