Meat, fish sellers using chemicals for preserving dead bodies as preservative- NAFDAC
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised the alarm that traders and farmers are using poisonous chemicals for preservation.
The Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye raised the alarm on Tuesday at a public enlightenment campaign in Bauchi.
Adeyeye who was represented by Fori Tatami, NAFDAC Director of Planning, Research and Statistics said kerosine and petrol tankers are being used to convey vegetable oil to market while excessive pesticides are being applied on farmlands.
The agency also said it had discovered the rising incidents of traders using formalin chemicals which is used to preserve dead bodies to preserve meat and fish in the markets.
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“Such meats are possibly laced with dangerous chemicals that chases flies away, so Nigerians must be wary,” he cautioned.
The agency further cautioned citizens about red palm oil, explaining that some traders add a dangerous chemical ‘azo dye’ to make it reddish and appealing.
She said another source of concern was the application of human antibiotics on animals, after which they are slaughtered and taken to markets.
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She advised Nigerians to be wary of reddish palm oil in the markets because some traders are adding a dangerous chemical.
She also urged fruit sellers to desist from using chemicals to reap fruits, thereby exposing consumers to cancer and other diseases.
Adeyeye also charged the people to stop buying drugs from hawkers, saying such drugs lose potency because of exposure to sunlight and rain.
“When you stop patronising drugs hawkers, you push them out of the business,” she said.
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She cautioned traders against the excessive use of chemicals capable of causing diseases and deaths particularly snippers in preserving foods like Kilishi.
NAFDAC appealed to Nigerians stop patronising drug hawkers and avoid meat that don’t attract flies.
The DG warned that the misuse of chemicals causes major health challenges and death stating that the agency was devising strategies to tackle the menace.
Adeyeye vowed that anyone arrested would face the full wrath of the law.