Indomie Noodles: Conflicting News, Half-truths and NAFDAC’s Clarification
Raheem Akingbolu
“Indomie noodles manufactured in Nigeria is different from the one produced in Malaysia and Taiwan and is safe for consumption” NAFDAC Director General.
This is the truth, but Nigerian consumers have seen over the last few days how fake news and clickbait news are causing panic among the public.
Consumers of the leading noodles brand, Indomie were thrown off balance at the weekend as the social media community was inundated with the news that the popular brand had been banned in Nigeria. Perhaps because of the sudden surge of citizen journalism with little or no time for verification, this side of the story gained tremendous traction.
With the headline: ‘NAFDAC bans Indomie Noodles’, some bloggers and social media enthusiasts activated their handles on Sunday through Monday morning. By the evening of Monday May 1, the news was everywhere that Indomie had been banned. For a market leader like Indomie, it became an issue management as many consumers became confused.
The facts…
But according to THISDAY check, the news being circulated is a mutilated version of a statement issued 24 hours ago by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) about the existing ban on the importation of Instant Noodles to Nigeria.
Of course, this action was prompted by the recent articles on various social media platforms about whether Indomie noodles is safe for consumption or not. While this news is emanating from Malaysia and Taiwan, due to the global village concept, Nigeria could not push it aside.
A recent statement issued by health officials in Malaysia and Taiwan where they claimed they had detected ethylene oxide, a compound in Indomie’s “Special Chicken” flavour noodles produced by Indofoods, has jolted the global noodles giant to a series of investigation to ascertain the claim by the health officials.
The Ministry of Health of Malaysia (MOH) immediately issued a directive to hold, test and release the Indomie Special Chicken Flavour instant noodles products from Malaysia at all entry points of the country and urged its manufacturer to voluntarily recall the affected products from the markets in Malaysia and Taiwan.
Despite this occurrence happening in faraway Asian countries, it has created a series of concerns among Indomie Instant Noodles consumers globally and raised the level of concerns about the safety of consuming the brand particularly in Nigeria, which is number one consumer in Africa and one of the largest consumers of noodles globally.
Reacting to this, NAFDAC was quick to assure Nigerians that importation of Noodles into the country has been banned for a very long period and such ban has not been lifted, so consumers have no cause for alarm.
While responding to the information on the detection in Malaysia and Taiwan, the Director-General, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said, “Instant noodles has been on the importation prohibition list of the Federal Government for many years. This variant or flavour is not registered by the agency, nor is it produced locally here.”
According to the regulatory agency, the statement on the ban of the importation of noodles into Nigeria became necessary as a result of claims that a cancer-causing chemical was discovered in the noodles and claims that the agency was not registered.
NAFDAC Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye discussed the situation and announced that the organization will start testing random samples of the noodles and other brands on May 2.
Speaking on Monday, Adeyeye claimed that as soon as the NAFDAC learned that the products had been recalled by Malaysian and Taiwanese officials, it began an investigation.
“On May 2, 2023, NAFDAC’s food safety and applied nutrition directorate will randomly sample Indomie noodles (including the seasoning) from the production facilities while the post-marketing surveillance directorate (will) samples from the markets,” she said.
“The compound of interest is ethylene oxide, so the director of food lab services directorate has been engaged. He is working on the methodology for the analysis,” the DG stated.
Half-truth…
In view of the position of the agency and the activities of those who mischievously twisted the story to mean that Indomie has been banned, few tricky facts have since been identified.
One, a curious look at the NAFDAC’s statement expressly indicated that Indomie Nigeria is not affected by issues in Malaysia and Taiwan and the Nigerian noodles is produced locally. What this means is that Indomie Nigeria is a separate entity from Indomie Taiwan and Indomie Malaysia.
Another incontrovertible fact is that importation of instant noodles has been banned since long before, therefore bringing currency into the issues now will be tantamount to deliberately confusing Nigerian consumers.
Interestingly, the NAFDAC Boss stated in the statement that the product is on the prohibition list of the federal government and she added that it is not registered by the agency and had been banned from importation to Nigeria years ago.
Finally, Indomie Nigeria has been locally produced in Nigeria for about three decades. It is not imported. The ban is on foreign instant noodles and not on those locally produced.
NAFDAC’s ratification
Following the confusion created by the panic news pushed by some 5th columnists, NAFDAC has made further clarifications on the controversies and confirmed that Imported Indomie noodles remain banned in Nigeria.
Adeyeye said the products flagged by both Taiwan and Malaysian health authorities are not registered in Nigeria and so have nothing to do with the country. She, however, noted that the investigations being conducted are simply being cautious.
She further reinforces this in an interview on Your View Show on TVC. She said the Indomie product produced in Nigeria is absolutely safe.
Also reacting to the development, the management of Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Noodles in Nigeria, has said its products are 100 per cent locally produced and are safe for consumption.
