By Favour Goodness
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has raised alarm that food vendors in the country were applying poisonous chemicals to preserve their food to the detriment of the health of Nigerians.
Loading ...Adeyeye, revealed that among the deadly chemicals being used by meat and fish sellers was formalin, a chemical substance used to preserve dead bodies.
She revealed that the agency has discovered that formalin is used by some meat and fish sellers to preserve their products even though formalin is used to preserve corpse.
She warned that the misuse of chemical on food products was capable of leading to many serious diseases and death, warning that anyone arrested would face the full wrath of the law.
The DG also revealed that sniper, a poisonous chemical, is also being used to preserve kilishi, by sellers in some parts of the country.
“Sniper is being misused by most Nigerians. If it dries with the kilishi, it can kill the consumer,” she warned.
Adeyeye expressed regret that most food vendors in the country were applying one chemical to food consumed by unsuspecting Nigerians.
She said the agency had uncovered kerosene or fuel tankers conveying groundnut oil to markets.
“Such vegetable oil becomes contaminated and the moment people buy and use it, they will start experience serious illness and diseases,” she said.
She said that apart from discouraging Nigerians against patronising drug hawkers, the agency is also cautioning Nigerians against buying meat that flies are feeling aware from.
“Such meats are possibly laced with dangerous chemicals that chases flies away so Nigerians must be wary,’ he stated.
She said that Nigerians should also be wary of red palm oil as traders add a dangerous chemical call azo dye to make it reddish and appealing.
She said the public enlightenment was to make Nigerians to be aware of the development and give information of such practices to NAFDAC in order to arrest and prosecute suspects.
“We should not allow people to put chemicals into the products that we consume. We need to be careful and enlighten our people.”
