NAFDAC Concludes Probe, Says Nigerian Noodles Safe For Consumption

In response to the alert issued by the health officials of Taiwan and Malaysia, the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated on Thursday that the results of a laboratory investigation conducted on Indomie and other noodle brands in Nigeria showed that locally produced Indomie instant noodles in Nigeria are safe for consumption. According to a statement released on Thursday with the heading “NAFDAC meets MAN, reassures consumers of the safety of Indomie noodles in Nigeria,”

The statement reads; the agency “assured consumers of Indomie and other noodle brands in Nigeria of the safety of the staple food amongst children and some adults, insisting that investigations by the agency have revealed that Indomie Noodles implicated in the recalls in Malaysia and Taiwan are not in Nigeria.”

The statement was made by the NAFDAC DG at the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s quarterly interactive session with NAFDAC. Early last month, NAFDAC began an inquiry after Taiwanese and Malaysian officials claimed to have found ethylene oxide, a chemical that may cause cancer, in Indomie’s “special chicken flavor,” which prompted the company to recall the product.

Speaking on the outcome of the probe, the NAFDAC DG explained that” the agency has run all the necessary tests, but we needed a chemical standard. It’s all science. We are a science organisation, and our processes are science-driven. We cannot conduct our own Nigerian science. No. We have to use the international standard chemical agents and things like that.”

However, Adeyeye pointed out that the Federal Government has long since outlawed the widespread consumption of noodles in Nigeria in order to safeguard the domestic manufacturing industry. Adeyeye asked MAN to seize the chance to boost the economy of the country by generating foreign currency. Segun Quadri, the Director General of MAN, promised to collaborate with NAFDAC to raise the country’s GDP and competitiveness index.