A man feasting on raw beef: Given the increasing alarm bells around food and drink additives and in order to forge an informed national debate around this issue, Cofek has in collaboration with partners mounted a special experts forum to deliberate on the issue that is giving sleepless nights to many health conscious persons in Kenya (Photo/Nation)

On Wednesday September 12, 2012, between 8am to 1pm, Cofek will hold an experts forum on food additives.

Some of the key presentations will revolve around the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food (including drinks) Additives and how it regulates food standards globally, and its application to Kenya.

Food additives have been used by mankind for centuries. Salt, sugar and vinegar were among the first and used to preserve foods. Considerable controversy has been associated with the potential threats and possible benefits of food additives.

Through the forum, Cofek hopes to raise awareness on this important issue that is slowly gaining interest in Kenya especially in the wake of fears that certains foodstuff additives may be a health safety threat generally and specifically cancer-causing.

Invited participants are drawn from Government, private sector, institutions of higher learning, professional nutritionists, food technologists and development partners, among others. Attendance is strictly by invitation.

This is the first in a series of such forums to be conducted across the country aimed at creating awareness among consumers on food additives. After Nairobi, two other forums will be held in Mombasa and Kisumu.

Cofek consumer dialogue forums 1 and 2 were on the banking and ICT sectors, respectively.

If you have expertise on the subject, as a medical doctor, nutritionist, dietician or a food technologist and interested to participate and add value to the forum whose findings shall be summarized into a booklet and disseminated in a several ways, please contact: Jack or Terry on: 0715555550 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Keep it here for regular updates on the forum.