ANXIETY OVER INFLUX OF BANNED FROZEN POULTRY PRODUCTS Print EmailCategory: NationalPublished: Monday, 05 August 2013 00:00Written by By Moses EboseleHits: 135THE continuous influx of frozen poultry products into the country despite Federal Government’s ban is generating anxiety among nutritionists and other stakeholders because of its possible health implications. Besides, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has cautioned Nigerians to be weary of the products, stressing that it lacks the power to conduct any health check, citing the official ban as a major constrain. The Federal Government had placed a ban on the importation of the products and directed the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to ensure compliance. However, most of the consumers who spoke with The Guardian yesterday claimed ignorance of the ban of the products and the health implications. The Guardian enquiry revealed that the products are being smuggled on a sustained basis into the country in large quantities through some land borders, especially at Idi-Iroko, Ogun State and Seme in Lagos State. A petrol tanker loaded with 1,521 cartons of the banned products was recently apprehended in Lagos, fuelling speculations that smugglers may have devised several means to outwit security agencies. Stakeholders who spoke with The Guardian yesterday said smugglers allegedly use formalin, a chemical used for embalming corpses, to preserve the banned items. But the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigerian Customs Service, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja, said that no stone would be left unturned in its bid to curtail the influx of the products. In an interview with The Guardian, the Public Relations Officer of the command, Uche Ejesieme, also pledged the commitment of Customs to tackle the menace. While advising consumers of the smuggled products to be vigilant, a Lagos-based nutritionist, Friday Ehimon, yesterday described the sale of the banned item in the open market as “health and security risk” to the nation. Ehimon said: “This cannot happen in any civilised society. Smuggled poultry products are available in the open markets across the country. The questions are: What is the source of these products? What are the health implications of consuming the products? I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to institute a panel to unravel the source and health implications of the products on Nigerians. The speculation out there is that the smuggled products are being preserved with formalin and other chemicals. The possibility of bacterial and other forms of contaminations cannot be ruled out. The government should do something before it is too late.” Speaking in a similar vein, a prominent importer, who preferred to be anonymous, explained that demand for the banned products is high across the country, “the only thing is the health implications. Some of the products spend more than two years in the warehouses at Benin Republic and Togo before they get to Nigeria”. Also, the Agric and Non-Oil Export Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) advised the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to further create awareness in the fight against importation of smuggled goods, particularly poultry products. According to the chairman of the group, Wale Oyekoya, the increased public awareness on the health hazards of consuming smuggled poultry products will discourage consumers from patronising smugglers of the products. He said: “The information dissemination is not there for people to be aware that what they are eating is deadly. You can’t just go and be seizing products when you have not given people consuming them better information about it. Most consumers just buy, they don’t even know what they are eating is being preserved with formalin. If Customs can stop the customers patronising them, the smugglers will have no business bringing it if there are nobody to buy.”
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:19:11 +0000
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