The United Kingdom has added Kenya to its list of destinations where British travellers should exercise heightened caution when consuming alcoholic drinks, due to the risk of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or tainted beverages.
The move comes as part of updated travel guidance issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Kenya joins eight other countries identified in the advisory as sites where incidents of methanol poisoning involving travellers have been recorded. The list now includes Nigeria, Uganda, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Russia, expanding on prior warnings that already covered destinations such as Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
Methanol, an industrial alcohol used in products like antifreeze and paint thinners, is sometimes illicitly mixed with spirit-based drinks to reduce production costs.
Unlike ethanol—the primary alcohol in beverages and typically produced through fermentation—methanol is synthetically processed, highly poisonous, and must not be consumed. It is tasteless and odourless, which makes detection challenging. Ingesting even small quantities can lead to severe health outcomes, with potential blindness or death within 12 to 48 hours after consumption, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Early symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion; more severe signs such as blurred vision, blindness and breathing difficulties can emerge within two days.
Hamish Falconer, the UK Minister for Consular and Crisis, urged travellers to exercise caution in Kenya and other affected destinations. His advice emphasized purchasing sealed drinks from licensed outlets and avoiding homemade or pre-mixed cocktails.
Kenya’s national standards body, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), defended the safety framework in place, stating that all methanol in the country is denatured with denatonium benzoate—the bitterest possible additive—making methanol undetectable as a beverage. KEBS said in a Wednesday statement that this denaturation ensures methanol cannot be mistaken for alcohol.
The update comes amid a broader context of Kenya’s illicit alcohol market. An industry study released in May by Euromonitor, a London-based market research firm, found that illicit alcohol accounted for about 60% of all alcohol sales in Kenya in 2024.
The report attributes the prevalence to affordability, easy access, and weak enforcement at the county level, driven by high legal taxes on legitimate drinks.
Investors and industry stakeholders are watching closely how regulatory responses, enforcement enhancements, and consumer behavior shifts will influence the Kenyan alcohol market and cross-border travel safety communications in the months ahead.