The Registrar of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology (NCFST), Mrs. Nkechi Ezeh, has described the current structures in the Nigerian food safety system as fragmented and undersourced, thus creating debilitating gaps in the entire setup.
Mrs. Nkechi, who was represented by Prof. Kaleb Fili of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, Moddibo Adama University, Yola, made the description in a paper she presented at the first regional food science and technology summit in the North East.
The registrar said that the system needed to be overhauled to do away with the overlapping structures to create complementary mandates in the existing structures in the nation’s food safety system.
She disclosed that there’s no single national food safety authority to harmonize standards and enforcement, stressing that enforcement has been stronger in large cities, “and indeed very weak in rural and informal markets where most Nigerians actually buy food.”
Mrs. Nkechi warned that the uneven deployment of food science and technology professionals in the system, coupled with inadequate laboratories, limited traceability, and weak rapid response to outbreaks, will continue to beset Nigeria’s food safety system unless something is done urgently.
She said that the low awareness among consumers, street vendors, and even some food processors in the industry has complicated the problem, making the Nigerian food safety system a chaotic sector.
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Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Prof. Ibrahim Umaru, has approved the introduction of diploma programmes in food science and nutrition to commence this academic year.
Chairman of the occasion, Wafari Theeman, said that the summit would help to
raise awareness about the interconnectedness of food safety, insecurity, and climate change in the North East region and promote science-based solutions to ensure food safety in fragile environments such as the North East.
He said that the summit has the potential to foster community resilience and local ownership of food safety initiatives and encourage policy and partnership approaches to support food safety initiatives in the region.
He highlighted the role of science and technology in ensuring food safety in any fragile society as crucial and emphasized that this was why the summit was timely and a welcome development.
