NIFST Seeks Tougher Action on Unsafe Food Practices
From the food bought by a commuter at a roadside stall to meals served in restaurants and hotels, what Nigerians eat every day could become a bigger public health concern unless food safety regulations are better enforced, the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, NIFST, has warned.
The institute is calling for stronger enforcement of food safety regulations, including arrests where necessary, saying public education alone may not be enough to stop practices that put consumers at risk.
NIFST President, Dr Biodun Osinowo, made the call at a breakfast meeting with members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism, ANJET, in Lagos.
The meeting, organised by ANJET, examined food safety, public awareness, regulation and the potential of Nigerian cuisine to become a stronger tourism product.
Osinowo said Nigerians needed more than warnings and sensitisation campaigns to change unsafe food-handling practices.
“When you educate, you also need to enforce,” he said, urging government, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, and other regulatory bodies to intensify public awareness while strengthening their enforcement capacity.
He disclosed that NAFDAC’s Director-General had told him that the agency required at least 20,000 personnel to effectively carry out its responsibilities but currently had only about 2,000.
The NIFST president also called for greater involvement of local government food inspectors, who, he said, were better positioned to monitor food-handling practices in markets and communities.
At the grassroots, NIFST’s Food Safety Committee has been engaging market women and other food handlers on basic hygiene, food preservation and the dangers of using harmful chemicals in food preparation.
NIFST Public Relations Officer, Olutaller Akinwole, said sustained public awareness remained critical because some food vendors might be engaging in unsafe practices without fully understanding the possible consequences for consumers.
“Awareness is a very critical thing,” he said.
Akinwole said the NIFST Academy was also willing to work with local governments, regulatory agencies and relevant associations to train food handlers and improve their knowledge of safe food practices.
For NIFST National Secretary, Rasaq Oke, the responsibility for safer food cannot be left to regulators alone.
“Food safety is everybody’s responsibility,” he said, calling for closer collaboration among NIFST, NAFDAC and other stakeholders to educate food handlers and tackle unsafe practices.
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Taiwo Ubani, also stressed the need for wider awareness, noting that many people remained unaware of the health implications of unsafe food-handling practices.
Beyond public health, however, stakeholders at the meeting said food safety could determine how far Nigeria’s rich culinary heritage goes in the global tourism market.
Former Chairman of NIFST Lagos Chapter, Sunday Bamgbose, said Nigeria had an enormous opportunity to turn its diverse indigenous foods into internationally recognised tourism products.
“I can see the potential of tourism in Nigeria if we put our act together,” he said.
Bamgbose recalled that the Lagos Chapter had previously worked with street food vendors, educating them on food safety and providing personal protective equipment.
He said stronger partnerships could help expand such interventions, particularly as Nigeria seeks to attract more visitors and present its food culture to the world.
According to him, tourists are unlikely to embrace Nigerian cuisine on a large scale if concerns about hygiene and food safety are not properly addressed.
“If we do this, I believe we start talking of, just as we talk about Chinese food, we start talking about Nigerian food in a very short time,” Bamgbose said.
The discussions come as NIFST marks its 50th anniversary, with activities including its 50th conference and annual general meeting taking place in Lagos.
Osinowo said the institute, established in 1976, now had more than 15,000 members worldwide and 11 active chapters across Nigeria.
The membership cuts across academia, industry, government, research, regulatory agencies and the hospitality sector, reflecting the wide range of interests involved in getting safe food from farms and markets to consumers’ tables.
But as NIFST marks five decades of advancing food science and technology in Nigeria, Osinowo said the country must move beyond awareness campaigns when unsafe practices persist.
“Initially we can show love, but if that is not working, we need to arrest and put action behind it,” he said.
