Food Legislation and Fraud in the Kenyan Beef Trade: A Review

Beef is the most consumed red meat in Kenya. Over the years, incidents of beef fraud, described as the false substitution of non-cattle meat for beef, have been on the rise, with the sale of donkey meat being the most prevalent. The slaughter and consumption of donkey meat perpetually occur in the geographically secluded backyards of select donkey-keeping communities, despite the government’s declaration of the donkey as a food animal in 1999. However, the meat of illegally slaughtered donkeys and wildlife has been intercepted in transit or at retail, to unsuspecting beef consumers on numerous occasions. Therefore, the study objective was to determine the factors along the beef value chain that lead to beef misrepresentation. A Google Scholar search performed between March and May 2025 identified relevant articles published between 2015 and 2025. The search strategy generated 52 articles that met the inclusion criteria suitable for critically analyzing beef value chain actors, their activities, and prevailing circumstances. Food laws and legal frameworks were scrutinized using the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) tool to identify their impact and effectiveness in addressing beef fraud in the domestic market. The review found that the lucrative global donkey skin trade incentivized beef fraud, in addition to the presence of informal value chain actors, non-digitization of livestock and meat mobility certificates, weak regulatory enforcement of the subsector, and poor business ethos. This study recommends implementing the National Food Safety Policy, which outlines the establishment of a specific legal framework to mitigate beef fraud risk. Public-private partnership research on the nutritional, therapeutic, and sensory quality of donkey meat should be prioritized to support the Government’s intended outcome of enhancing food security, guaranteeing meat safety, consumer confidence, and fair beef trade.