Aleke Aleke in Abuja
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, SAN, has called on state and local governments to strengthen food inspection and enforcement in markets, restaurants, abattoirs and other food outlets to prevent avoidable deaths linked to foodborne illnesses.
The Minister also urged governments at all levels to deploy qualified food science and technology professionals in markets, food-processing centres and other points along the food value chain to tackle unsafe food practices and protect public health.
He advocated the adoption of the Nigerian Council for Food Science and Technology (NiCFoST)’s food safety operational manual for market and street food vendors.
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The Minister made the call during a press briefing organised by NiCFoST to commemorate the 2026 World Science Day for Peace and Development in Abuja.
Quoting World Health Organisation (WHO) data, the Minister said approximately 866 million people worldwide were affected by foodborne illnesses, resulting in an estimated 1.552 million deaths, including 143,000 children under the age of five.
He said the effective deployment of trained professionals was critical to detecting food adulteration, monitoring processing practices, strengthening quality assurance and ensuring that food products met acceptable safety standards.
He revealed that Nigeria had approximately 3,000 food science and technology professionals trained across 70 tertiary institutions, expressing concern that their expertise was not being adequately utilised, particularly in the public service.
He said the Ministry was facilitating engagements towards establishing a professional career structure for food science and technology practitioners in the public service to ensure that their skills were effectively deployed to safeguard the nation’s food supply.
Udeh urged food regulatory institutions and businesses to engage qualified and licensed professionals in food production management, quality assurance and control, production supervision, raw material management and finished-product storage.
He expressed concern over the prevalence of unsafe food practices, including the artificial ripening of fruits with calcium carbide, treating beans and grains with prohibited chemicals, using paracetamol to soften meat, applying detergents during cassava processing and adulterating palm oil with prohibited colourants such as Sudan dyes.
“These practices certainly endanger lives, undermine consumer confidence and compromise food security. Food must sustain life, not endanger it,” he said.
On the promotion of indigenous technologies, Udeh said the Ministry was encouraging the adoption of locally developed solutions for food processing, preservation, storage and packaging, including improved fish-smoking kilns, solar dryers, grain storage systems, cassava-processing equipment and palm fruit-grinding machines.
He explained that the Ministry was also promoting shared community processing facilities to enable small-scale operators to access appropriate equipment without having to bear the full cost individually.
Earlier, the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of NiCFoST, Veronica Ezeh, identified the inadequate deployment of food science and technology professionals at the grassroots as a major gap in Nigeria’s food safety system.
Ezeh said qualified professionals were needed in markets and food-processing centres to conduct scientific inspections, screen food products, identify adulteration and monitor compliance with food safety standards.
Demonstrating how some traders adulterate palm oil with prohibited Sudan dyes to enhance its colour and appearance, she warned that such practices exposed unsuspecting consumers to potentially harmful substances.
She also raised concerns over the unhygienic display of garri in open containers, warning that exposure to dust, insects, rodents and other contaminants could facilitate the transmission of dangerous diseases, including Lassa fever and cholera.
