NAFDAC warns Nigerians against packaging food with plastic

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), has warned Nigerians to stop using plastic materials, particularly polytene bags popularly known as nylon for food packaging to prevent cancer.

Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of NAFDAC gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

“Packaging of pap in nylon is not encouraging; leaves are all over the place, a leaf is the best thing to use for packaging item and it must be clean.

“Nylon is not good for packaging hot food because the heat will make the nylon to leach chemicals as such must be discouraged. Plastic materials usually have bisphenol which can cause cancer.

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“We are doing a study in our labs on different packaging of food, especially on nylon, the outcome will be out shortly,’’ she said.

She also cautioned people on the use of aspirin to purify water, adding that “such idea is wrong and it amounts to adding salicylic acid into the water one intends to drink.’’

According to her, drinking water that contains salicylic acid can cause erosion of the intestine, cancer, ulcer and many more damages to human health.

She said that the treatment of water with chlorine and alum must be minimal and must not exceed the required amount.

NAN