Unsafe food kills 53,000 Nigerians yearly — Expert

— Experts raise alarm at Lagos food safety conference By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Shekinah Ijile LAGOS — At least 53,000 deaths associated with unsafe food are recorded annually in Nigeria, a food safety expert, Dr Adeniyi Odugbemi, has said. Odugbemi, who attributed the figure to recent studies, urged stakeholders to move beyond identifying food safety challenges and adopt science-based solutions to prevent avoidable deaths. The expert, Global Director of Quality and Food Safety at Archer Daniels Midland, ADM, stated this yesterday at the fourth Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition organised by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, at NECA House, Alausa, Lagos.

The one-day conference was themed, “From Burden to Solution: Safe Food Everywhere.” Delivering the keynote address, Odugbemi described unsafe food as a major public health and economic challenge, saying Nigeria could no longer rely on faith alone to address foodborne illnesses. He said, “We’ve sat too long on the problem. We need to start working together, look at the complexity of this burden and begin to offer solutions.

“Food safety challenges, including biological, chemical and physical contamination, food fraud, adulteration, ineffective packaging, food loss and waste, require interventions based on science, empirical evidence and research.” Odugbemi stressed the importance of food safety, saying, “If it is not safe, it is not food.” He identified food security, food sustainability and food safety as major challenges across the food value chain, stressing that access to food should not expose consumers to illness or injury. The expert also called for greater attention to Nigeria’s informal food sector, where many Nigerians obtain meals outside the home. He urged stakeholders to support informal food vendors with the knowledge and resources required to maintain safe food-handling practices rather than simply criticising them.

Odugbemi further warned that food safety had economic implications for Nigeria, particularly as food exports could face rejection in international markets over safety concerns. He said strengthening the country’s food safety system was essential to maximising the economic potential of its agricultural and food sectors. Odugbemi called on government, industry, academia and consumers to take clearly defined responsibi…