As Nigeria prepares to celebrate World Food Safety Day 2024 Toady, June 7, the President of the Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative, Prof Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, on Monday, asserted that food safety has become a critical concern that transcends national and international borders, making it “everyone’s business.” He further stated that the poor food safety, hygiene and traceability in Nigeria, along with the high levels of hidden hunger and food insecurity, were a significant threat to the population’s well-being.
The World Food Safety Day is jointly facilitated by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations day to create awareness and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, thereby contributing to food security, human health and prosperity. This year’s FAO/WHO theme is ‘Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected’.
The UN notes that unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies, stating that about 420,000 people worldwide die annually due to contaminated food. The WHO also reports that about 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur annually and 40 per cent of children under the age of five, carry the foodborne disease burden and 125,000 of them die every year. Foodborne illnesses are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or chemical substances that get into the body through contaminated food or water.
According to Nigeria’s National Policy on Food Safety and Implementation Strategies, 2014, “The lack of awareness of the socio-economic importance of food safety, paucity of data and information on the incidence of food-borne disease outbreaks, lack of understanding of food safety and quality standards as outlined in international agreements and the inability to enforce compliance with international standards and global best practices,” among other issues, are the key challenges facing the enhancement of food safety in the country.
The CAFSANI president, said Nigeria’s 230 million population faces the greatest threat of foodborne illnesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. He noted that Nigerians, who are “highly mobile migrants and have developed an unhealthy penchant for imports” must be protected against foodborne illnesses. Ogunmoyela, who is also the chairman of the World Food Safety Day Planning Committee for 2024, under the National Food Safety Management Program of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, asserted that aside from foodborne illnesses, a high level of hidden hunger and food insecurity threatens the well-being of our population.
He stated that a recent report by Cadre Harmonize forewarned that Nigeria is on the brink of a devastating food crisis, with an estimated 31.5 million citizens facing acute insecurity in having inadequate access to food by August 2024. “This is perhaps not surprising given the remote issues of terrorist insurgency, kidnapping, and banditry which for more than one decade have plagued different parts of the country, leading to the abandonment of farmlands. “These are the remote drivers of the deteriorating food security situation, characterized by hyperinflation, and fuelled by the recent removal of fuel and electricity subsidies. We must make it a national priority to get people back to the farms!” he said.
The food safety advocate harped on the negative impact of climate-related events nationwide, noting that these factors increased food insecurity and the consumption of less healthy diets and more unsafe foods. He added, “If food is unsafe, it can’t provide the nutrition required to build a healthy population. Therefore, unsafe food affects our health and has far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s economy and progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This is certainly why ensuring food safety has become so crucial.” Ogunmoyela further noted that foodborne illnesses can arise from various factors, including improper food handling, incidents like ineffective or inadequate food control or food fraud, and environmental conditions such as drought, flooding, or power outages.
Continuing, the don said, “This is why “Food safety is everyone’s business” i.e. ensuring food safety requires collective vigilance and action. “Therefore, being ready for unexpected food safety incidents requires collective, proactive measures and vigilance to respond effectively, especially in emergencies. Last year, we witnessed how for practically one week, Lokoja and a good part of Kogi State were locked up in flooding and accumulated rainwater. It was so bad as to threaten that State and access by surrounding States including the FCT, but we were helpless onlookers. Now, the rains are here again!” He stated that governments and industries must put in place emergency response plans to combat unexpected events and the additional threat of climate change to prevent illness and mass deaths.
The CAFSANI CEO asserted that policies must be matched with actions as all food actors must be aware of and ready to timely implement food safety management plans to minimize the risks to life from unsafe foods and poor food access. “In addition, investments in consumer education need to be stepped up, to build food safety consciousness and knowledge that can help avert problems in such unexpected situations. Consumers therefore generally need to be more aware of how to protect their environment, and how to manage food safety and nutrition issues at all times. “Food safety is everyone’s business” i.e. ensuring food safety is a collective action. Therefore, being ready for unexpected food safety incidents requires our collective efforts, vigilance, and proactive measures,” he said. The CAFSANI boss stated that the government, producers and consumers, have a vital role to play in ensuring food safety, especially during emergencies.
