The public health department has warned against consumption of fish being hawked on major highways in Naivasha.
The illegal practice which has attracted many jobless youths was described as a “health hazard” by a senior health official who called on dealers to embrace proper fish handling and preservation methods to avoid contamination.
“It is shocking to see the number of people involved in the illegal sale of fish and this might lead to food-borne illnesses,” the official said.
Public health department which falls under the Ministry of Health has discouraged fish mongers from consuming the fish as it raised concerns over the mode of transporting the delicacy.
“We cannot even be sure where the fish has been sourced from. The unhygienic environment, notwithstanding,” the official added.
The ministry has since called for close coordination between the fisheries department and public health officers to stop the business until special facilities for degutting fish are built.
The move will affect unlicensed fish dealers who have been hawking fish for years along the busy Nairobi-Naivasha and the Naivasha-Maai Mahiu highways with complete ignorance to spelt-out food-handling procedures.
Currently, the Nakuru County government and development partners are building a modern fish market at Kinungi, on the Nairobi-Naivasha highway at a cost of Sh240 million.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui announced that the first phase of the project will cost Sh80 million, with the county government contributing Sh10 million and the other partners Sh70 million.
Kinyanjui added that the enterprise will comprise of several projects, including water harvesting, stalls for vegetable vendors and commercially run public sanitary facilities.
But the core functions of the facility will be to build a fish market with a value addition component. It will also include more than 300 modern stalls in an eco-friendly environment.
The management will ensure that 100% of collected garbage is recycled after being sorted into organic and inorganic waste.
