NAFDAC, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, has reiterated that it has prohibited the importation of Indomie noodles into the nation.
Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the Agency’s Director General, underlined this in a press statement on Monday.
This comes on the heels of Taiwan and Malaysian officials recalling indomie noodles due to the detection of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical.
According to the NAFDAC boss, the compound of interest was ethylene oxide, and the Director of Food Lab Services Directorate had already been involved and was working on the methodology for the analysis.
The statement states in part, “For many years, Indomie noodles have been prohibited from being imported into the country.” It is one of the foods prohibited by the government. It is not permitted in Nigeria and so is not registered with NAFDAC.
“We’re taking extra precautions to ensure that the product isn’t smuggled in, and if it is, our post-marketing surveillance will catch it.” We also want to ensure that the spices used in the Indomie and other Nigerian noodles have been tested.
“That is exactly what NAFDAC Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) are doing this week at the production facilities and in the market, respectively.”
She did, however, vow to keep Nigerians updated of the outcomes of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the agency announced that it will begin sampling indomie noodles, including seasoning, from production facilities tomorrow (Tuesday).
Ethylene oxide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a colourless, highly reactive, extremely flammable gas that is frequently utilized as an intermediate in the production of various chemicals.
According to the WHO, findings from animal studies, test systems, and epidemiological findings suggested an increase in the incidence of human cancer, and the report concludes that ethylene oxide should be considered a probable human carcinogen, with levels in the environment kept as low as feasible.
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