The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has apprehended the merchants of dangerous chemicals used in food and drinks supposedly to enhance taste that killed three people in Kano.
The three died after consuming adulterated flavoured drinks, NAFDAC stated.
The agency’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known in a statement issued by Mr Olusayo Akintola, the NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant on Sunday, April 11, in Abuja.
The NAFDAC chief, therefore, warned against adding chemicals or additives to food and drinks to enhance taste, stressing that such practice could result to severe illness and even death.
Adeyeye said the agency would stop at nothing to ensure that only safe food and other regulated products were available in the market for consumption and use.
She said that preliminary result of the agency’s investigation of the victims had been submitted to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State during her two-day visit to the state to assess the incident.
She noted that “it was heart warming that merchants of the deadly chemicals and additives had been apprehended while further investigation continued.”
According to her, the importance of food cannot be over emphasised and that when dangerous foreign elements find their way into foods and water, it becomes poisonous rather than being nutritious.
She pointed out that food contamination and poisoning could occur through consuming expired food or preparing food with poorly sourced water and putting cooked food on the shelf for several days or months.
She said “we are very particular about food additives, about the temperature at which food can be kept, or about the expiration date of food. If all of these are violated, then there can be food poisoning.
“Whether it is food or water, adding chemicals and other substances either to enhance the food or change its form can be dangerous, especially when we can’t verify the source and content of such additives.
“NAFDAC is now working assiduously in partnership with the Kano State Government with a view to preventing reoccurrence of the March 11 incident.”
