PAN says N660bn smuggled poultry products pose health risks

President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr Ayoola Oduntun, said that the improperly imported poultry products pose grave danger to consumers, handlers and the environment.He said the sheer volume of the imported products is enough to heighten public health concerns for consumers across the country.Professor O.O. Tewe and other scientists presented a study […]

President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr Ayoola Oduntun, said that the improperly imported poultry products pose grave danger to consumers, handlers and the environment.
He said the sheer volume of the imported products is enough to heighten public health concerns for consumers across the country.
Professor O.O. Tewe and other scientists presented a study which showed that imported poultry meat particularly chickens and turkey is loaded with microbes, which have serious consequences to the health of the nation.
The scientists have linked the isolation of salmonella with the imported poultry meat, which they said contains pathogens, the leading cause of deaths among those with high consumption of smuggled poultry meat.
The scientists stressed that smuggled poultry products are loaded with hazardous chemicals such as flouoquinolone and formalin, which ranges from 42.9 to 63.3ml per kilogramme.
They advised Nigerians to avoid unwholesome poultry products adding that studies have shown they are responsible for health complications in consumers.
Speaking on the economic impact of poultry in the country,  Dr. Oduntun stated that as at 2014, local chicken production was estimated at 300,000my, a capacity utilization of 46% in an industry that currently boasts of a 650,000 my installed capacity.
In the same year, 1.2 million metric tonnes of frozen chicken valued at N660 billion ($2.75 billion was imported).
Currently the poultry industry costumes 2 million metric tonnes of maize and 750 metric tonnes of soya beans thereby providing employment to many Nigerians.
Dr.  Bukar Ali Usman of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said that there is need for collaboration between agencies, ministries, professional bodies and producer associations to stem out smuggled poultry products into the country.