ATNI calls to improve packaged foods’ healthiness in Kenya and Tanzania

The Access to Nutrition initiative (ATNI) reveals that only a small share of assessed packaged food products in Kenya (33%) and Tanzania (25%) are considered “healthy.” Nutrition Insight joined the organization’s online report launch, which mapped the food and beverage market and policies in the East African countries, where populations face growing risks of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. 

ATNI links these growing health risks to the increased availability and consumption of more processed, energy-dense foods higher in fat, salt, and sugar, instead of traditional diets that rely on local, nutrient-dense whole foods. 

Greg Garrett, executive director at ATNI, hopes the assessment will help stakeholders in Kenya and Tanzania improve the food environment through regulations and enable investors to allocate capital to companies “making the right moves toward better nutrition.” 

“We also want to help mobilize civil society and consumers to ensure their voice is leveraged to improve products they consume.” 

Healthiness food portfolios

For the market assessments in Kenya and Tanzania, ATNI mapped the food environment and assessed companies on their products’ healthiness and portfolio improvements, the affordability of their nutrition, how they influence consumers with responsible marketing and labeling, and to what extent they ensure corporate and nutrition governance.

ATNI also analyzed the nutrition-related policies and practices of each market’s ten largest national food and beverage companies. 

The organization used the Health Star Rating (HSR) system to assess foods’ healthiness. Products scoring at least 3.5 stars out of a possible five under HSR are classified as healthier.

Non-communicable disease prevalence in Kenya

Zachariah Muriuki, nutrition officer at the Ministry of Health in Kenya, highlights that the country is grappling with a rising burden of non-communicable diseases. “One of the biggest drivers of these factors is an unhealthy diet, where Kenya, like other countries globally, has had a proliferation of packaged foods high in sugar, sodium, and fat.” 

The report calls on businesses to set clear targets for healthier, affordable products and responsible marketing and labeling practices.ATNI details that adult obesity has tripled since 2000, while 79% of Kenyans cannot afford a healthy diet, leading to persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. To address these challenges, the government of Kenya has introduced key policies in front-of-pack nutrition warning labels and a new Kenya Nutrient Profiling Model. 

For the report, ATNI assessed the nutritional quality of 746 packaged foods and beverages sold in Kenya by 30 major companies, representing 57% of the formal market. Overall healthiness is low — only 33% of 746 products meet a “healthy” threshold under HSR. 

According to the WHO Africa Regional Office model, which assesses whether products are suitable for marketing to children, 14% of these products are eligible for marketing to children. Moreover, under the Kenyan Nutrient Profiling Model, only 10% would not require one or more warning labels. 

Few companies, such as FLora FG and Nestlé, have set formulation targets that address nutrients of concern, but overall progress was slow. Less than a quarter of all products were fortified, and only 32% of those met ATNI’s healthy threshold. 

Tanzania’s triple burden of malnutrition

Stephanie Kaaya, National Mirror Committee technical secretary at the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, notes that Tanzania is tackling the triple burden of malnutrition: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight, which she says are often linked to ultra-processed foods. 

Products scoring at least 3.5 stars out of a possible five in the Health Star Rating system are classified as healthier.In addition, ATNI’s report notes that 75.5% of Tanzanians could not afford a healthy diet in 2022. 

The report assessed the healthiness of 483 products sold by 21 major companies in Tanzania, representing 48% of the formal packaged foods and beverage market. ATNI finds a low overall healthiness, with only 25% of products meeting its healthy threshold under HSR. 

Seven of the 21 companies had fortified at least one product. Micronutrient and nutrient levels were available for 40 of the 483 assessed products; 67.5% met ATNI’s healthy thresholds. 

“The National Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan is focused on addressing these issues,” says Kaaya. “In micronutrient deficiencies, Tanzania successfully launched its mandatory Food Fortification Regulation in 2024, requiring producers of edible fats and oils, maize flour, and wheat flour to fortify their products.”

However, ATNI notes that no companies disclosed reformulation targets for the Tanzanian market. In addition, the report found that nutrient profiling models are not widely used in the country’s food and beverage sector. 

Recommendations for healthier practices

In both countries, ATNI recommends that manufacturers evaluate their portfolio’s healthiness and responsible marketing and labeling practices. It urges them to set clear targets for healthier, affordable products and responsible practices. 

Kenya and Tanzania are both developing stricter marketing regulations for unhealthy foods and advancing nutrient profile models.The report also calls on businesses to improve transparency on nutrition policies, progress, and quality control. 

Muriuki says the report is timely and will help companies reflect on how they can adopt healthier practices. “This assessment has mandated companies to think more about the healthiness of their products and take responsibility for promoting healthy diets, both in their workforce and in the responsible marketing and labeling of food products.”

ATNI also recommends that the government enact and enforce legislation to protect children from exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing and urges investors to prioritize investments in companies that demonstrate progress in healthier product portfolios. 

The report urges the governments in Kenya and Tanzania to adopt stricter nutritional policies, such as mandatory front-of-pack nutrition warning labels and marketing regulations. It also advises strengthening regional cooperation by supporting the development of East African nutrition standards. 

Muriuki says the Kenyan government is developing a draft regulation on these policies, which will be mandatory. “With the report, we know the market and how it behaves, so it will assist us in strengthening our front-of-pack labeling and market restrictions.”

According to Kaaya, Tanzania has implemented policy reforms, including “regulations to restrict the marketing of unhealthy foods.” She says the country is also developing a nutrient profiling model “nearing completion.” 

She concludes: “This report will complement the government’s efforts by helping consumers identify healthy products. It may also help get industry assistance, as many products have been assessed, which will help companies evaluate themselves. Perhaps they can help complement government efforts as we reform our policies and develop our new policy document for the nutrient profile model.”