*FG raises alarm, says food adulteration contribute to more than 53,000 deaths annually
*That deaths arise from use of harmful chemicals to ripen fruits, preserve grains, soften meat, others
*Warns that unsafe food consumption could cause more than 200 diseases, including cancer
*Moves to deploy safety experts to 774 Local Government Areas
By Blessing Bature
The Federal Government has moved to strengthen food safety enforcement across the country, proposing the deployment of qualified food science and technology professionals to local government areas amid concerns that dangerous food adulteration practices contribute to more than 53,000 deaths annually in Nigeria.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, said the use of harmful chemicals to ripen fruits, preserve beans, soften meat and alter the appearance of food products posed serious threats to public health, requiring urgent intervention at all levels of government.
Udeh, who spoke at a press briefing in Abuja, warned that unsafe food consumption could cause more than 200 diseases, including cancer, and called for stronger regulatory enforcement, routine inspections and greater accountability across the food value chain.
He identified the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits, dichlorvos, popularly known as Sniper, to preserve beans and grains, paracetamol to soften meat, and detergents or bleaching agents in cassava processing as some of the dangerous practices exposing Nigerians to health risks.
According to the minister, Nigeria records an estimated 50 million cases of foodborne illnesses and more than 53,000 related deaths annually, underscoring the need to move beyond existing food safety laws to effective implementation.
He also cited World Health Organisation estimates that about 866 million people globally suffer from foodborne illnesses annually, resulting in approximately 1.55 million deaths, including 143,000 children under five.
The minister expressed concern that despite producing about 3,000 food science and technology graduates annually from approximately 70 tertiary institutions, Nigeria had yet to adequately utilise their expertise, particularly in public sector food safety monitoring.
He attributed the gap partly to the absence of an established professional cadre for food science and technology practitioners, explaining that this had limited the deployment of qualified personnel to oversee food processing, preservation, storage and distribution.
Udeh disclosed that the ministry was facilitating the establishment of a professional cadre for practitioners to strengthen food safety monitoring and ensure that qualified personnel are responsible for supervising food production and handling.
He urged state and local governments to intensify inspections of markets, restaurants, abattoirs and food processing centres, while adopting the food safety operational manual developed by the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology.
The minister also announced plans for a high-level national stakeholders’ meeting involving relevant government institutions and operators across the food value chain to develop coordinated interventions against food fraud and unsafe practices.
He called on Nigerians to report suspected cases of food adulteration, stressing that public participation was essential to effective enforcement.
“If you see something, you say something. The eyes of the government are the eyes of everyone. If we see and do not report, how would people know? How would those that enforce know?” he said.
Udeh further disclosed that Nigeria had developed local technologies for safer food processing, preservation, storage and packaging, including solar dryers, improved fish-smoking kilns, grain storage systems and cassava processing equipment.
Also speaking, the Registrar of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology, Mrs Veronica Ezeh, warned that the deliberate adulteration of food products, particularly palm oil, with prohibited industrial substances was putting consumers at risk.
During a demonstration at the briefing, Ezeh showed how some traders allegedly used Sudan IV dye to deepen the colour of palm oil and make adulterated products more attractive to unsuspecting buyers.
She also raised concerns over the use of the industrial dye in Bambara nut products used for preparing moi-moi, particularly where producers had insufficient palm oil to achieve the desired colour.
According to her, some food producers engage in such practices for financial gain and operate secretly to evade regulatory authorities.
Ezeh further identified the open display of garri in markets, poor food storage and the washing of fruits with potentially contaminated water as practices capable of exposing consumers to harmful microorganisms and other contaminants.
She explained that garri displayed in uncovered containers could be exposed to dust, rodents, human saliva and other environmental hazards.
The registrar maintained that food safety monitoring must begin from the sourcing of raw materials and extend through processing, packaging, transportation, storage and eventual sale to consumers.
She said deploying qualified food science and technology officers across local government areas would strengthen routine inspections and address gaps in the country’s food safety monitoring system.
End
