Quarantine Office advocates national consciousness on food hygiene
NAN-H-63
Hygiene
By Esenvosa Izah and Omowunmi Alake
Lagos, Feb. 7, 2017 (NAN) The Coordinating Director, National Agricultural Quarantine Service, Mr Vincent Isegbe, has urged Nigerians to develop a national consciousness for basic food hygiene.
Isegbe made the call at the 1st Nigerian Food Safety and Investment Forum, organised by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, this will ensure food safety in the country and facilitate international trade.
The director said that stakeholders and necessary regulatory bodies should set national regulatory standards for proper implementation that would meet international standards.
“Locally, we need to address the local hygiene; that is why Nigerians still buy food from the road side; foods that are exposed to dust and all manner of contamination.
“So, by the time we are talking about export certification, there is a big challenge, because the exporters do not want to comply with rules put in place.
“We need to apply the necessary requirements and also know what is expected of us, nationally and internationally.
“Such that as a nation, we can export good agricultural produce as well as ensure food safety,” he said.
Mrs Yetunde Oni, the acting Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), also charged manufacturers of foods to package healthy products in the interest of the nation’s economy.
Oni reminded them that unwholesome foods were responsible for the rejection of their products globally.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that the forum part of the UNIDO-EU-FGN food safety capacity building programme for the government of Nigeria. (NAN)
EEI/AOI/VIV/MST
Edited by Vivian Ihechu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola