Kaduna doctors urge govt to prioritize food safety

This was contained in a statement issued by the Kaduna state chapter of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) recently to mark this year’s World Health Day; lamenting that no special consideration is given to the issue of food safety in the country.The statement jointly signed by the chairman and secretary of the Association, Dr. Muhammed Sani […]

This was contained in a statement issued by the Kaduna state chapter of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) recently to mark this year’s World Health Day; lamenting that no special consideration is given to the issue of food safety in the country.
The statement jointly signed by the chairman and secretary of the Association, Dr. Muhammed Sani Ibrahim and Dr Shehu Abdulrahman respectively revealed that Kaduna NMA in collaboration with the state branch of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) carried out campaigns on the theme of this year’s World Health Day: ‘Food safety, from farm to plate’.
The aim of the campaign according to NMA is to spur government to improve on food safety.
“Unsafe food is responsible for over 200 preventable diseases such as diarrhoeal diseases and cancers, killing an estimated two million people annually including children.
In Nigeria, diarrhoeal diseases alone are responsible for about 10.2% of all death in children. In addition, food borne diseases may lead to long-lasting disability. Examples of unsafe food include uncooked food of animal origin, fruits and vegetables that are contaminated with faeces,” the statement reads.
They therefore called on government to make it mandatory for manufacturers of all food items to use labels that indicate the exact content of their foods, noting that many manufacturers still make use of prohibited substances including potassium bromate, food additives including preservatives, colouring agents, artificial sweeteners, and artificial flavours which are responsible for many diseases including cancers.
“Separate raw food from cooked ones, cook food thoroughly before consumption, keep food at safe storage temperatures and use only clean water and raw materials for food preparation. In addition, because most members of the public do not take the time to gather adequate knowledge about the food that they consume, it is important that members of the public read labels of food items before consumption and be familiar with harmful food substances around them.
“For example, some varieties of cassava contain high amount of cyanide and so must be properly prepared and well cooked to avoid the risk of cyanide poisoning,” the statement said.