FCCPC Urges Nigerians to Consume Only Fruits, Grains Ripened Naturally

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has stressed the need for Nigerians to allow fruits, grains and other farm products to ripen naturally in order to ensure that they are not harmful to the body.

This was as the Commission also decried using chemicals to ripen such fruits and farm products, stressing that it was harmful and injurious to the health of anyone who consumes them and can even lead to death.

The advice was given by the Acting Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr. Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi, during a one-day sensitisation programme on forceful ripening of fruits, adulterated palm oil, contaminated meat and grains held in Bauchi, yesterday.

Represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the Commission, Dr. Nkechi Mba, the Executive Vice Chairman stressed that the Commission was committed to ensuring that consumer got value for his/her money on any products he purchases.

He, however, stressed that the Commission would ensure that no product was made hazardous to the health of the consumers saying that, “It is part of our mandate to ensure that consumers are protected against products that are injurious to their health conditions.”

According to him, “Consumer health is our concern, the Act that established FCCPC mandates us to do so. When we consume unsafe, poor quality and substandard products, there are health implications because these adulterated products are very hazardous to the human body.”

He stressed that forcefully ripened fruits using calcium carbide are very harmful to the body.

“When we don’t allow fruits to ripe before harvesting them and we use chemicals to artificially ripen them, it can damage the stomach and the intestine, cause stomach ache and diarrhea, it can affect the entire body system leading to dizziness or even convulsions,” he added.

He added,”When artificial colours are added to palm oil or flavour, it lowers the quality of that food. We will make more profit from selling such food but people will die from what we have sold to them. People can have allergic reactions in their bodies, other parts of the body can be damaged.”

“When food, fruits are contaminated, they are harmful to the body, unwanted substances contaminate the air, water and other things, they are hazardous to our body.

“Recently, cholera is killing people, typhoid too, all these are caused by contaminated food and fruits,” he added

Earlier in a welcome address, the Director, Consumer and Business Education Department,

Yahaya Garba Kudan stated that, “Today, we gather here to address some of the pressing issues in our food industry, forceful ripening of fruits, adulterated palm oil, contaminated meat and grains.”

According to him, “These are Issues that affect not only our health and well-being but also the integrity of our food supply chain. As we are all aware, food safety is one of your rights as a consumer and it is paramount to our collective health.”

He lamented that, “It is disturbing to note the increasing incidences of harmful practices in food production and processing. These practices not only pose significant health risks but also undermine consumer trust in the food industry.”