Justice Isaac Lenaola also stopped the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) from withdrawing Aromat from the market until July 16, when the matter comes up for hearing.
The High Court has issued orders against the arrest of Unilever Kenya chief executive Yaw Nsarkoh over the alleged inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in the Aromat food seasoning.
Justice Isaac Lenaola also stopped the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) from withdrawing Aromat from the market until July 16, when the matter comes up for hearing.
Unilever Kenya has been under fire in the past week after the Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives was told by Makueni Member of Parliament Daniel Maanzo that Aromat has genetically modified ingredients.
Through his lawyer, Martin Munyu, the Unilever Kenya CEO told the High Court that the product has met the requirements set by the Standards Act of the Constitution, and is duly certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Importers’ rights
He further argued that despite a government ban on products that contain GMOs in 2012, the absence of a law or regulations on the ban threatens to infringe on the rights of importers.
“The NBA recently began issuing media notices, and on July 4 issued a seizure against Unilever’s Aromat product with the effect of disparaging it as being unsafe for consumption in Kenya. Unilever has suffered from loss of consumer confidence owing to incorrect depiction of the product,” said Mr Munyu.
Aromat’s labelling indicates that its ingredients include salt and maze flour, which contain GM material.
Unilever’s general counsel and company secretary Inviolata Oriwo said in her affidavit that the company had learnt of the investigation into their product through media reports, and had even been approached by the police over the matter.
“On Friday, three officers from the NBA and two from the Police stormed the Unilever offices demanding to know how much of the product was available in their warehouse. They left the premises at around 7pm with 25 cases of different variants of the product,” she said.
Miss Oriwo added that the company learnt of the intention to apprehend their officials through an interview with NBA Chief Executive Officer Philip Tonui in Monday’s Business Daily.
Unilever maintains that they have met the NBA’s requirement of labeling the products as per instructions, and that they have not been given an opportunity to be heard.
The regulator had threatened to have importers charged with defying the ban on GMOs, with supermarkets roped in as accomplices. The product has been in the Kenyan market since 2001.
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