The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Birtus Bako Nabasu, said that, “more than 200,000 Nigerians dies annually from food poisoning caused by food contamination during food processing and preservation.
Nabasu who was represented by Director, Chemical Technology Department, Mr. Oyefeso Akinyemi, disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the one-day workshop of food safety organised for the staff of the ministry in Nassarawa state.
According to Mr. Nabasu, 90,000 cases of food borne diseases are recorded in Nigeria annually. This statistics he added, made it urgent for appropriate authorities such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.(NAFDAC) to pay greater attention to food safety matter.
He further said that this ministry was committed to partnering with relevant stakeholders in the provision of scientific evidence- based data, would be useful in the elaboration of food standards by local and global food standards-setting bodies.
He urged participants at the workshop to henceforth serve as food safety champions in their various domains.
Earlier speaking the Director of Health and Biomedical Science Department, Mr David Erphabahimu said everyone has a special role to play in ensuring that the food consumed by Nigerians is free from contamination.
