420,000 die from consumption of unsafe food yearly — Oyo commissioner

An estimated 420,000 persons globally die from consumption of unsafe food yearly, Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi has disclosed.

The Oyo Commissioner made this known during a symposium organized to commemorate the 2024 World Food Safety Day, held at the Ibadan Business School, Ibadan, on Wednesday.

The 420,000 deaths are from 600 million cases of foodborne disease recorded worldwide yearly, with a third of the deaths being under five children.

Speaking, Ajetunmobi called on all and sundry to prioritise food safety, noting its importance to good health and aiding humans to live an active and healthy life.

She said: “Safe food is one of the most critical guarantors for food health; only when food is safe can it meet nutritional needs and help children to grow and develop and adults to live an active and healthy life. Specifically, food safety and nutrition are inextricably interconnected and an equally essential part of food security.

“Food safety however remains one of the most substantial and challenging public health issues affecting millions globally, particularly in developing countries. Every year, unsafe food causes about 600 million cases of foodborne disease, resulting in an estimated 420,000 deaths – a third of these deaths being under five children.

“There are food safety challenges in Nigeria, especially in the informal sector; and a lot is being done on many fronts to overcome them by both state and non-state actors, and put Nigeria on the path of food and nutrition security.

On the part of the state government, Ajetunmobi said the state pushed for food safety as it recently examined the practices of food vendors at the state secretariat and across the state capital and would not hesitate to shut down those cooking in an unsafe manner.

She stressed the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration to tackle food safety issues, food insecurity and strengthen preparedness for unexpected food safety challenges, with cholera being the most recent.

Ajetunmobi added, “Oyo State Ministry of Health is committed to global best practices to achieve its primary goal of safe food to ensure citizens’ health. Through the department of Food, Water and Laboratory Services, the ministry pursues its food safety objective of reducing food safety hazards in food business operators products by implementing different initiatives in line with the state strategic health development plan (2018-2022), the State Registration and Quality Control Regulations (2012), the Public Health Law (Cap 135) and other extant laws in Nigeria.

“Oyo State, under the leadership of His Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde is primed to transform its food systems and make safe and healthy foods available to the people. Oyo State is keen on a well prepared and resilient food safety control system and healthcare system in general.”

Also speaking, Modupe Banwo, Project Manager, Food Safety for Africa Project, coordinated by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said the focus of the project was particularly on the informal sector where many purchase their food from.

She added that the project was looking at aflatoxin management, misuse of pesticides to reduce pesticides residue in foods, technological innovation in fish farming, microbiological contamination looking at leafy vegetables.

Banwo stressed that there was need to ensure the players in the informal sector take food safety as a way of life, as well as embrace new technology in fish farming and food safety.

The event saw Mr Femi Stephen of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Okurounbi Olanike of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), stress the need for multi-sectoral collaboration, partnerships to strengthen the response to food safety crisis and build a resilient food system.

Representatives of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Farmers Association, Oyo State Water Corporation, Oyo Ministry of Agriculture among other stakeholders stressed the need for increased focus on food safety, in a world where several were consuming genetically modified foods.

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