The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is set to clamp down on fruit sellers who use carbide to ripen fruits.
INDEPENDENT reports that according to 2022 WHO statistics, there is an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually.
The report added that an estimated 420,000 people around the world die every year after eating contaminated food (preventable deaths).
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, said it is ready to wield the big stick in tackling the menace.
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Adeyeye, who was represented by Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr. Leonard Omokpariola revealed this during a media sensitisation workshop on the dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with carbide in Lagos, a weekend organised by the agency.
NAFDAC DG said, “Most of the drugs sold by hawkers are counterfeit, substandard and often expired and do not meet the requirements of regulated medicine.
“Drug hawkers prescribe medicines to their gullible patients. They are also major distributors of narcotics medicines to armed bandits, armed robbers, insurgents and kidnappers. They constitute a serious threat to our national security,” she said, adding that any drug hawker arrested by NAFDAC would be prosecuted and be made to face a jail term.
“We solicit the support of other law enforcement agencies in ridding the country of this harmful and shameful practice. The war is on and we must fight it together,” she said. Adeyeye further said that the agency would continue to engage the media in tackling the ripening of fruits with carbide.
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