The United Kingdom has issued a travel advisory warning British nationals visiting Kenya to exercise caution when consuming alcoholic beverages due to the risk of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or tainted drinks.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said Kenya is among eight new countries added to its list of destinations where incidents of methanol poisoning involving travellers have been recorded. Others include Nigeria, Uganda, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Russia.
The updated travel guidance expands on existing warnings for popular tourist destinations such as Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, where British travellers have previously suffered poisoning after consuming contaminated alcohol.
Methanol, a highly toxic industrial alcohol found in antifreeze and paint thinners, is sometimes illegally mixed with spirit-based drinks to reduce production costs. Unlike ethanol, which is produced through fermentation and safe in moderation, methanol is synthetically manufactured and deadly even in small amounts.
Health experts warn that consuming as little as 30ml of methanol can cause blindness or death within 12 to 48 hours. Early symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and confusion, with more severe effects such as blurred vision, respiratory failure, or death developing later.
Hamish Falconer, the UK Minister for Consular and Crisis, advised travellers to purchase only sealed drinks from licensed outlets and to avoid homemade or pre-mixed cocktails.
In response, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) reassured both locals and visitors that methanol sold in the country is denatured by adding denatonium benzoate a chemical that makes it too bitter to be mistaken for alcohol.
A recent Euromonitor study revealed that illicit alcohol made up 60% of all alcohol sales in Kenya in 2024, driven by high taxes on legal drinks and weak enforcement at the county level.
