The Federal Government has unveiled a multi‑pronged action plan to prosecute food adulterators, aiming to curb an estimated 50 million food‑borne illnesses and 53,000 deaths in Nigeria each year.
In a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh warned that unsafe food has become a growing public‑health threat. He cited a World Health Organization report that, in 2021, 866 million people worldwide suffered food‑borne illnesses, causing 1.52 million deaths, including 143,000 children under five, and a global economic cost of $310 billion.
Udeh highlighted recent Nigerian tragedies, noting the deaths of five family members in Kogi State after consuming fufu made from contaminated cassava flour and 49 fatalities in Ondo State linked to methanol‑contaminated locally prepared alcoholic and herbal drinks.
The minister said the government will work with the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney‑General to prosecute offenders involved in food contamination and adulteration. Convicted persons could face jail terms ranging from six months to two years.
Registrar of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology (NiCFoST), Mrs Veronica Ezeh, identified dangerous practices such as the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruit, dichlorvos (Sniper) on beans and grains, paracetamol to tenderise meat, detergents on cassava, and the addition of the banned Sudan IV dye to palm oil. She warned that such practices could lead to liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, cancer and other serious health conditions.
Ezeh outlined the plan’s key measures: strict enforcement of Sections 243–245 of the Criminal Code Act, creation of a Food Science and Technology professional cadre across federal, state and local governments, promotion of modern technologies for food safety, mandatory sealing and packaging of food products, stakeholder conferences, stronger inter‑agency collaboration, and adoption of NiCFoST’s Food Safety Procedure Manual launched last year.
She also called for the employment of more food science and technology professionals, noting that over 3,000 graduates are produced annually in Nigeria and should be engaged by all three tiers of government to strengthen food‑safety surveillance and enforcement.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
