FG targets unsafe food practices with new professional cadre

The Federal Government plans to establish a professional cadre for food science and technology to strengthen food safety monitoring across the country.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja to mark the 2026 World Science Day for Peace and Development.

Udeh said the initiative would help curb unsafe food handling practices by ensuring the deployment of qualified food science and technology professionals across government institutions, particularly at the state and local government levels.

He said the professionals would monitor food processing, preservation, storage and distribution.

According to him, Nigeria produces about 3,000 food science and technology graduates annually from approximately 70 tertiary institutions, but their expertise remains underutilised due to the absence of an established professional cadre.

“We have sufficient hands to handle food processing and safety, but we are not effectively utilising them,” he said.

The minister acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology (NiCFoST) and the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology towards securing approval for the establishment of the cadre.

He urged relevant government institutions to conclude outstanding approvals and administrative processes to support the council’s regulatory mandate.

Udeh expressed concern over unsafe food practices, including the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits, dichlorvos (Sniper) to preserve beans and grains, and paracetamol to soften meat.

He also identified the use of prohibited industrial colourants such as Sudan IV to adulterate palm oil as another dangerous practice.

Citing World Health Organisation figures, he said unsafe food could cause more than 200 diseases, noting that foodborne illnesses remained a major global health and economic concern.

“Food must sustain life, not endanger it. One of the most important common grounds of humanity is food,” he said.

He urged food businesses and regulatory institutions to engage qualified NiCFoST-licensed professionals in food production management, quality assurance, raw material handling, processing and storage.

The minister also called on state and local governments to strengthen food inspections in markets, restaurants, abattoirs and other food outlets.

He urged them to adopt the council’s food safety operational manual and provide the personnel and logistics needed for effective enforcement.

Udeh said the ministry was promoting locally developed technologies for safer food processing, preservation, storage and packaging.

He added that shared community processing facilities would be encouraged to give small-scale food operators access to appropriate technologies at affordable rates or at no cost.

He also advocated affordable hygienic packaging methods, particularly for garri, which he said was often exposed to dust, insects and other contaminants in open market containers.

The minister further announced plans to convene a high-level national food system stakeholders’ meeting to improve coordination among government institutions and stakeholders across the food value chain.

Earlier, the Registrar of NiCFoST, Mrs Veronica Ezeh, demonstrated a simple screening procedure for detecting Sudan IV, a prohibited industrial dye used to adulterate palm oil.

Ezeh explained how the presence of the colourant could be identified, stressing the need for trained food science and technology professionals to conduct appropriate tests and inspections at the grassroots level.

She called for the employment and deployment of such professionals across the three tiers of government to strengthen food inspection, promote safe storage and processing practices, and protect consumers.

The 2026 World Science Day for Peace and Development is being celebrated under the theme, “Common Ground Through Science Diplomacy”.