A study conducted by Prof. Olumide Tewe, a nutritional toxicologist at the University of Ibadan, alongside some of his colleagues, has revealed that imported frozen chicken and turkey contain certain chemical substances that are harmful to human health.
Speaking at a press briefing organised by the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, a nutritional enzymologist, Dr. Okhiomah Abu, who is one of the researchers, said that poultry products imported into Nigeria contained toxic and heavy metals that could worsen the occurrence of food-borne diseases in the country.
Abu said, “Most of the feed given to these poultry animals are usually contaminated and they contain metals. The heavy metals are concentrated in the kidneys and livers of the chicken.
“They also find them difficult to excrete so they are passed along to humans when they eat these imported meats. We also found out that poor handling of these imported meats also increases the risk of contamination.”
The Director- General, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, who was at the event, said the study also showed that imported poultry products were preserved with high levels of formalin and other hazardous chemicals that could pose grave danger to the health of Nigerians.
Orhii noted that the presence of imported poultry products would no longer be tolerated as the agency was prepared to enforce the Federal Government’s ban on such food items.
He said, “The study showed that their sheer volume is enough to heighten public health concerns for consumers across Nigeria. The break in cold chains during smuggling encourages a build-up of high microbial load, rendering such consignments unhealthy and unfit for human consumption.”
Another researcher, Prof. C.I Alarima, said the study showed that imported poultry products, especially chicken and turkey, were loaded with harmful microbes.
Alarima, who is an agricultural extensionist, said the study linked the isolation of Salmonella with imported poultry meat. According to him, Salmonella infection is the leading cause of death among those who eat imported poultry meat.
“These bacteria can provoke a number of symptoms of the disease within 72 hours of exposure and could last four to seven days,” he added.
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