Dr. Kinyuru makes a presentation on edible insects during a previous event held at JKUAT
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) played a leading role in the development of the now gazetted standards to regulate the production, handling and processing of insects for food and feed in Kenya.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards who gazetted the notice, tasked JKUAT with providing technical expertise through the ENTO-ECONOMY project funded by LEAP-AGRI consortium.
The project is led by Dr. John Kinyuru, who is the Principal Investigator and Director of Research at JKUAT. He was assisted by Dr. Robert Mbeche (Co-Principal Investigator), a lecturer in the Department of Agriculture, Resources and Economics.
The three standards which were published in the Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXII-No.2l5 on December 4, 2020 included: KS 2921:2020 Kenya Standard – Production and handling of insects for food and feed – Code of practice, KS 2922-l:2020 Kenya Standard Edible Insects Specification Part t: Edible insects’ products, and KS 2922-2:2020 Kenya Standard Edible Insects Specification – Part 2: Products containing edible insects.
Dr. Kinyuru said these new standards are an important milestone in supporting individuals and industry players interested in edible insects.
He added that “insect harvesters, farmers and processing industries can now get accreditation and their products will be issued with a Kenya Bureau of Standards certificates to enable them market and sell them globally.”
He lauded Kenya for being the first country in Africa to achieve this fete saying, the bar has been set for benchmarking by other African countries.
He added that insect rearing is becoming a lucrative business venture and the “worldwide market for edible insects which was worth approximately $112m in 2019, is projected to reach more than $1.5bn by 2026.”
He urged people with a keen interest in rearing and processing of edible insects to get in touch with him through his email: jkinyuru@agr.jkuat.ac.ke.