Group cautions on rise in use of pesticides as preservatives

An advocacy group with a focus on campaigning against the consumption of pesticides in Nigeria, League Against Pesticide Consumption, has condemned the use of dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, commonly abbreviated as DDVP and popularly known as pesticides, for the preservation of raw foodstuff and other edibles by traders and large distributors of food items, emphasising that the practice is harmful and injurious to the health of citizens.

The group’s warning is coming on the heels of an earlier warning by the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, at the weekend, decrying continuous rise in the use of Dichlorvos (DDVP) in the preservation raw food items.

The group in a statement signed by its Public Relations Adviser, Olatunde Odebiyi, said, “pesticides are chemical compounds that are used to kill pests, including insects, rodents, fungi and unwanted plants (weeds). LAPC recognises the important role of food preservation in the value chain as the method of treating and handling to slow down spoilage and prevent food borne diseases but recommends the use of appropriate and standard preservatives with no harmful side effects. Such will maintain the nutritional value, texture and flavour as against Dichlorvos (DDVP).”

The group said it has observed the alarming frequency with which some distressed members of the public resort to the consumption of pesticides, reiterating that pesticides are not for ingestion by human beings as “they are harmful to the body, could lead to several health problems and also death if a consumer is not given immediate medical attention.”

The group further revealed that according to global figures, 20 per cent of suicide across the world is through the ingestion of poisonous substances, while 78.6 per cent of Nigerians who die by suicide do so through the ingestion of poisonous substances such as pesticides, electrolytes (battery water) and bleach.

The group concluded that foodstuff traders and distributors in Nigeria should not throw caution to the wind in the food preservation process while consumers must be more observant, sensitive and health-conscious in their consumption patterns and habits.

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