By Dipo Olowookere
Worried by the use of harmful chemicals to preserve food consumed by citizens, federal government recently held a crucial meeting with stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
The meeting was chaired by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, in Abuja and had beans farmers, marketers and quality control various agencies in attendance.
Some days ago, a video went viral in the country showing a wholesaler of beans using a popular insecticide, Sniper, to keep away weevils from the beans.
Though some commenters said the practice was not new, medical experts and nutritionists said the consumption of such beans could be very harmful to the human body.
Sniper is a chemical used to kill rodents and insects. The product has also been popular used for suicides.
At the meeting of stakeholders last week, the Minister said all hands must be on deck to ensure products consumed by Nigerians were safe and of high quality.
During the meeting focusing on food safety in the country was discussed, Mr Ogbeh said the indiscriminate use of chemicals in agricultural produce preservation and storage should be stopped.
“Our focus is on immediate action through high level public enlightenment on the dangers of inappropriate use of chemicals in food production, provision of safe storage materials and preservation methods in collaboration with relevant agencies and our development partners,” the Minister said.
Some of the agencies at the gathering were the National Food Safety Committee; Consumer Protection Council, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Orientation Agency (NOA).
Others were Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
