By Our Reporter
The Federal Government has announced plans to intensify enforcement of food safety regulations and prosecute individuals and businesses involved in food contamination and adulteration, amid estimates that unsafe food practices cause 50 million foodborne illnesses and 53,000 deaths annually in Nigeria.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press conference in Abuja, warning that offenders could face between six months and two years in prison.
Udeh said the government would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to ensure that individuals responsible for endangering public health through unsafe food practices were brought to justice.
He described food contamination as a serious public health challenge, citing World Health Organisation estimates on the global burden of foodborne diseases.
According to him, the WHO reported that approximately 866 million people worldwide suffered foodborne illnesses in 2021, resulting in 1.52 million deaths, including 143,000 children under the age of five.
He noted that unsafe food could cause more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoeal infections to cancer.
The minister cited incidents in Kogi and Ondo states to illustrate the deadly consequences of food contamination and unsafe consumption practices.
He recalled that five members of a family reportedly died in Kogi State in August 2026 after consuming fufu processed from cassava flour.
Similarly, 49 deaths were recorded in Ondo State in September following the consumption of locally prepared alcoholic and herbal drinks reportedly contaminated with methanol.
To address the problem, Udeh said the government would strengthen the enforcement of Sections 243 to 245 of the Criminal Code Act, improve food packaging and sealing standards, and deploy technology to detect and prevent contamination.
The Registrar of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology, Mrs Veronica Ezeh, identified several dangerous practices contributing to food contamination across the country.
These include the use of calcium carbide to accelerate fruit ripening, application of dichlorvos, commonly sold as Sniper, to beans and grains, and the use of paracetamol to soften meat.
She also raised concerns over the use of detergents and bleaching agents in cassava processing, as well as the adulteration of palm oil with prohibited colouring agents such as Sudan IV dye.
Ezeh warned that exposure to contaminated and adulterated food could lead to serious health complications, including liver and kidney diseases, cancer and damage to other vital organs.
She said the proposed government interventions would include establishing food science and technology professional departments across federal, state and local governments, organising stakeholders’ conferences and strengthening collaboration among regulatory agencies.
The council also plans to promote the adoption of its Food Safety Procedure Manual, launched last year, to improve food handling, processing and preservation practices nationwide.
Ezeh urged governments at all levels to employ qualified food science and technology professionals, noting that Nigeria produces more than 3,000 graduates in the discipline annually.
She maintained that deploying trained professionals to food safety and regulatory positions would strengthen monitoring, improve enforcement and reduce the dangers posed by contaminated and adulterated food products.