Strengthening Nigeria’s Food Safety Measures

Food safety is an urgent issue that affects all countries and Nigeria is no exception. With a rapidly growing population, ensuring access to safe and nutritious food has become a critical challenge for the Nigerian government and its citizens. 

Similarly, poor hygiene in the supply chain, both in production, retail and culinary have continue to threaten the safety and quality of food. 

Although stakeholders in the sector have reportedly called for enhanced collaboration in a united front to accelerate food safety measures to combat foodborne illnesses in Nigeria and the call became expedient as incidents of food contamination continue to pose threat to public health. 

In the same vein, contaminated food, poor sanitation practices, inadequate food storage and handling and lack of access to clean water contribute to the occurrence of foodborne diseases and in Nigeria, common foodborne diseases include diarrheal diseases, cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and bacterial infections like Salmonella and E. coli.

According to report, every year, 600 million people fall sick as a result of around 200 different types of foodborne illness globally as findings further show that more than 200,000 people die yearly in Nigeria due to food poisoning and contamination. 

No gainsaying that by encouraging collaboration and strengthening existing policies, between government agencies, such as NAFDAC, SON, the international community, industry players and consumers Nigeria will great strides towards achieving a sustainable and effective food safety system that benefits everyone.

According to the director-general Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Farouk Salim Nigeria’s journey towards achieving optimal food safety is far from over. 

Speaking at a symposium to mark this 2023 World Food Safety Day in Abuja, Salim who was represented by Yunusa Mohammed noted that as a nation, Nigeria must remain vigilant, proactive, and adapt approach to food safety as rapid changes in global food production, supply chains and emerging technologies demand continuous improvement and innovation of our standards and regulatory frameworks.

He called for collaboration to improve food handling, production, processing, and distribution practices as well as to empower and educate consumers to make informed choices and demand safe food. 

Salim said, “Food standards are not just a regulatory measure; they are the basis of our commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of Nigerians. Food standards provide minimum requirements for protecting consumers from foodborne illnesses, contamination, and fraudulent practices.

By adhering to the quality and safety requirements as prescribed in the Nigerian Industrial food standards, we will minimise risks and foster public confidence in the safety and quality of the food purchased and consumed nationwide”. 

The theme of the year “Food Standards Save lives” is to recognise that standards not only provide guidance to farmers and processors on the hygienic handling of food but also defines the maximum level of additives and contaminants that could be consumed.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO ), food safety is not only a crucial component to food security, but it also plays a vital role in reducing foodborne disease.

FAO representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero said the burden of such illness falls most heavily on the poor and on the young. In addition, foodborne illness is responsible for 420 000 preventable deaths every year globally. 

He said, “We are reminded that today is significant to us all because we are making people more aware of food safety issues. The events planned to mark this day is targeted at demonstrating how to prevent illness through food safety, discussing collaborative approaches to improved food safety across sectors and promoting solutions and ways of being more food safe in Nigeria”. 

The permanent secretary ministry of health Engr Adebiyi Afolabi said food safety has a critical role in ensuring that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain. 

Represented by the director pharmaceutical services, food and drugs at the ministry, Pharm Joseph Ologun he said Nigerians to do whatever it takes to improve food safety practices and standards in a way that ensure elimination of food borne diseases and illnesses. 

Afolabi said it is also an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe and has standard, mainstream food safety in the public agenda.

“As we know, food standards are a way of ensuring food safety and quality by providing guidance on hygienic food handling for farmers and processors. Standards also specify how the food should be measured, packaged and transported,” he noted.