The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has dissociated itself from a comment asking Nigerians to avoid eating bread.
Roseline Ajayi, NAFDAC south-west coordinator, recently said
bread sold in the markets is failing laboratory tests because producers are
using saccharine due to the high cost of sugar.
“We are not unmindful of the prevailing economic challenges,
but the agency will not compromise its standards. It is pertinent to note that
the quality and safety of regulated products cannot be compromised,” she said.
Shortly after, a reporter made a video on Ajayi’s comment
and further advised Nigerians to avoid consuming bread.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC
director-general, said the content of the video does not reflect the
observation of the official.
“At no time during that engagement with stakeholders did
NAFDAC suggest that Nigerians should avoid bread baked and sold in Nigeria,”
the statement reads.
“NAFDAC dissociates herself from the comment of the reporter
in the circulating video about avoiding bread in Nigeria.
“This is the personal
statement of the reporter who does not speak for the Agency. NAFDAC wishes to
reassure the public that the Agency remains fully alive to her responsibilities
of safeguarding the health of the public.
“The Agency is a responsible regulator and does not make
general statements capable of causing panic and fear in the population.”
NAFDAC cautioned bakers in the country against using
unapproved food additives.
“Any baker found to be using unapproved food additives, in
this case, saccharine, is appropriately sanctioned in line with the extant
regulatory provisions,” the statement adds.
“The Nigerian
Industrial Standard (NIS) does not permit the use of saccharine in bread. This
is the same for the Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), an
authoritative reference point for food additives, which also does not permit
the use of saccharine in bread.
“Like other food additives, sweeteners usually undergo
thorough risk assessments for safety by an Expert Body, the Joint FAO/WHO
Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) before approval for use.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com