What Are We Really Eating? Inside Nigeria’s Food Safety Crisis

From repackaged expired merchandise in open markets to chemically preserved meats and poorly saved imported meals, what finally ends up on Nigerian plates is more and more elevating questions on security. Despite regulatory companies, enforcement stays weak, inspections are sporadic, and customers are left to navigate a market flooded with unlabelled, adulterated and counterfeit merchandise. As food-borne diseases rise and public belief within the meals chain weakens, Inside Nigeria’s Consumer Safety Crisis examines what Nigerians are actually consuming, who is meant to maintain them protected, and the place the system is failing. BUKOLA OGUNSINA studies.

There is a rising disaster consuming into the material of meals security in Nigeria, and adulterated meals is at its coronary heart. From open markets to different casual buying and selling channels, the apply of tampering with meals merchandise for revenue stays a persistent concern, exposing customers to substances they might not even know they’re consuming.

The concern has been heightened by renewed consideration on adulterated palm oil. Social media has been awash with claims a couple of easy “water test” that supposedly reveals whether or not palm oil accommodates dye or synthetic colouring. But a analysis examine revealed in September has solid doubt on the take a look at’s reliability, discovering that the water-and-oil methodology can’t be relied upon to find out whether or not palm oil has been adulterated.

Then got here one other warning that introduced the difficulty nearer to dwelling. In a video that circulated broadly on-line, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo spoke about meals security in Nigeria, recounting how laboratory testing reportedly discovered his spouse’s freshly squeezed orange juice “not fit for human consumption”.

In one other video shared extra not too long ago on social media, Nollywood actress Ngozi Ezeonu raised considerations concerning the circulation of counterfeit medicines, child meals and different shopper merchandise in Nigeria, warning that unsuspecting households could possibly be placing their well being in danger. She urged Nigerians to be extra vigilant concerning the merchandise they purchase and produce into their properties.

In a latest operation, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) uncovered a counterfeit alcoholic beverage operation on the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex. It seized merchandise valued at over N2 billion. The company additionally found greater than 20 unauthorised shops allegedly used for counterfeiting and different illicit actions.

Together, these considerations elevate a troubling query: how protected is the meals Nigerians devour on daily basis?

Speaking on the difficulty, financial professional and CEO of Payfair Corporate Services Limited, Bob Ugochukwu Ani, who operates within the meals retail house, says it has change into more and more troublesome to differentiate real merchandise from counterfeit ones, notably within the casual sector.

“We see concerns around diluted or substituted food products, counterfeit branded goods, expired products that are relabelled, and products whose packaging or labelling has been tampered with,” he additionally added that there are additionally high quality and questions of safety arising from poor storage, transportation and dealing with.

“In some cases, what consumers consider ‘adulteration’ may actually be contamination caused by poor handling or inappropriate storage conditions. This is particularly concerning because the consumer ultimately bears the health risk.”

The venture director of N-MEP and founding father of Kaduna Business School, Prof. Dahiru Sani, confirms that meals adulteration in Nigeria right this moment spans a variety of on a regular basis staples.

“The scale of the problem is reflected in the numbers regulators themselves have released. Between May and July 2026, NAFDAC inspected 6,233 facilities across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and removed 7,210 fake, falsified, substandard or otherwise non-compliant products from circulation, with about 80 per cent of that surveillance activity specifically targeting fake, falsified and substandard products,” he stated.

“It is driven largely by the pursuit of quick profit in an economy where many traders, transporters and small processors are under intense cost pressure and operate on thin margins,” he says, noting that what was once remoted circumstances now present up throughout virtually each class of meals Nigerians purchase every day, from cooking oil to fruit to ready staples.

He additional added that probably the most often reported kinds embrace the addition of business or artificial dyes, together with azo dyes, to palm oil to deepen its color and disguise poor high quality or age. In extra excessive circumstances, palm oil is combined with cheaper industrial oils, transformer oil, or lard to extend quantity with out proportionately elevating the worth.

Other practices embrace ripening fruits with calcium carbide and utilizing industrial detergents or bleach in the course of the fermentation and processing of garri and cassava merchandise to hurry up manufacturing, lighten color, or enhance look and shelf life.

Bleach and different dangerous chemical substances are additionally used to whiten or protect fufu and comparable staples, notably merchandise bought free and with out labels. Unapproved preservatives are used to increase shelf life past protected limits, whereas substances similar to paracetamol are used to tenderise or “soften” meat earlier than sale.

The Resident Media & Communication Consultant to NAFDAC, Sayo Akintola, additionally identified that faux merchandise reduce throughout many classes, with probably the most essential being substandard medicines that embrace antibiotics and anti-malarial medicine, which may trigger remedy failure, organ injury, and even dying.

He additionally talked about adulterated meals and drinks, together with packaged meals, wines, spirits, and primary objects similar to cooking oil and water.

“Substandard or faux alcoholic drinks have been recognized to comprise dangerous substances similar to methanol, which may trigger blindness or dying.

Fake cosmetics, together with lotions, soaps, and physique sprays, are additionally frequent. These might comprise poisonous chemical substances like mercury and lead, inflicting short- and long-term well being points similar to pores and skin rashes, kidney injury, and even pores and skin most cancers,” he famous.

When figuring out adulterated meals, Mr Ani says, the primary line of safety is the place you purchase from and who you belief. “In our business, we pay attention to the source of products and the reliability of our suppliers because the retailer also carries reputational responsibility when something goes wrong.”

He advises customers to look at packaging, seals, product data, expiry dates, batch numbers and NAFDAC registration particulars the place relevant. They ought to be cautious about merchandise whose packaging seems suspicious, whose costs are considerably beneath the traditional market worth, or whose color, odor, texture, or style seems uncommon. Not all adulterated meals could be bodily recognized, as some require laboratory assessments. “This is why buying from reputable retailers and established distribution channels is extremely important,” he advisable.

Similarly, Prof. Sani says that whereas laboratory testing stays the one strategy to affirm adulteration with scientific certainty, customers can nonetheless shield themselves by paying shut consideration to unnatural color or shine.

He stated, “Palm oil that looks unusually bright red, overly clear, or has an artificial sheen rather than the natural, slightly cloudy deep orange-red of genuine oil should raise suspicion. The same applies to fruit or vegetables with an even, unnaturally glossy or uniform appearance.”

Other warning indicators embrace uneven or untimely ripening, sturdy chemical odours from staple meals, and strange adjustments in texture. Garri or flour that seems unnaturally white, excessively clean or unusually positive and powdery might also warrant warning. Meat that feels unusually tender or “mushy” for its explicit reduce might have been handled with an unapproved tenderiser. Consumers must also be cautious of costs that appear unusually low or just too good to be true, in addition to different warning indicators.

NAFDAC’s resident advisor additionally factors out that, as a shopper, understanding tips on how to establish and keep away from faux medicine is an important well being ability in Nigeria. Despite raids and seizures by the NAFDAC, there are nonetheless pockets of pretend merchandise available in the market linked to excessive shopper demand for reasonably priced items and their straightforward accessibility via open markets.

“In February this yr, NAFDAC intercepted over 10 million doses of pretend malaria medicines price roughly N3bn throughout a raid on the Lagos Trade Fair Market. The eight truckloads of contraband, together with anti-malarial medicine, cerebral malaria injections, antibiotics, Postinor contraceptives, and Analgin merchandise, had been seized.

“In August last year, the agency also reported the seizure of over 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste and cosmetic products at the same market during a five-day enforcement operation,” he highlighted.

He due to this fact advises that for regulated merchandise similar to medicines, meals, cosmetics and different relevant merchandise, whereas it is important to examine the NAFDAC registration data, it isn’t sufficient.

“A number printed on a package is no automatic proof that the product is genuine, as counterfeiters can copy legitimate registration numbers. Enter the number into NAFDAC’s official online verification portal and compare the result with the product you’re buying,” he defined.

He additionally advises coming into the product title or NAFDAC registration quantity on NAFDAC’s Greenbook. If the registration particulars don’t match the product title, producer or different data on the package deal, it turns into a serious crimson flag. Adding that the majority importantly, “when the product is too cheap, run for your life. If a drug is sold for N2,000 in other chemist shops and you find it being sold for N1,200 or N800, you know that something is not right and it’s a red flag.”

Akintola says different issues to look out for embrace spelling or grammatical errors, poor-quality printing, crooked labels, lacking producer data, blurry logos or photographs, damaged or suspicious seals, unusual or inconsistent fonts, and altered expiry dates.

Regarding stronger measures to curb this menace, Mr Ani says the answer should begin with the availability chain and that it’s a shared accountability.

“Manufacturers must produce responsibly, distributors and retailers must maintain proper controls, regulators must enforce the rules effectively, and consumers must make informed purchasing decisions. As food businesses, protecting the consumer is also fundamental to protecting the trust and reputation upon which our businesses depend,” he stated.

Prof. Sani notes that tackling the issue requires greater than periodic enforcement raids and public briefings, necessary as they’re. He factors to the necessity for a extra structural and sustained response, together with closing the regulatory hole within the casual sector, which frequently falls exterior the direct attain of companies similar to NAFDAC, whose oversight is strongest over branded and registered merchandise.

He additionally known as for tighter coordination amongst regulatory companies and expanded, decentralised testing capability, together with extra accessible, quicker laboratory companies, cellular testing items, and state-level laboratories.

Other measures he recommends embrace harder, extra constant and visual penalties, in addition to higher help for official small-scale processors and merchants to discourage them from chopping corners. He additionally emphasises shopper training, a trusted system for reporting food-safety considerations, traceability necessities for bulk staples and common impartial surveys of meals markets.

Meanwhile, Akintola notes that NAFDAC has made combating faux medicine a central a part of its mandate, with vital progress made since 2017 when the director basic, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, assumed workplace.

“The agency’s efforts, including market raids, port inspections, the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS), and public awareness campaigns, have reduced the prevalence of counterfeit drugs in formal distribution channels. However, challenges remain, particularly in open drug markets and in areas with limited access to licensed pharmacies,” he noticed.

In phrases of stronger measures by NAFDAC, he emphasised repeated enforcement raids, steady surveillance, intelligence gathering, laboratory verification and public engagement. He identifies post-market surveillance as a serious regulatory management, alongside routine nationwide surveillance, investigation and enforcement, in addition to large-scale destruction workouts, all of that are carried out by NAFDAC.