The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has assured consumers of Indomie and other noodle brands in Nigeria of the safety of the staple food amongst children and some adults.
During the quarterly interactive session between the agency and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Thursday at the MAN House, Ikeja, Lagos, its Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye disclosed that investigations by the agency have revealed that Indomie Noodles implicated in the recalls in Malaysia and Taiwan are not in Nigeria and implored Nigerians to always eat safe.
“I love to eat good food, including noodles. But I want to be sure that the food I am eating is not going to make me sick, take medicine. And if I am taking medicine the food that I am eating will not make me add to the medicine that I am taking. Therefore, I take food very, very seriously”, she said.
She explained that immediately after the news of the recalls of Indomie Noodles from Malaysia and Taiwan got to Nigeria, she directed the Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Mrs. Eva Edwards; and the Director of Laboratory Services (Food), Dr. Charles Nwachukwu to begin tripartite discussions with manufacturers and marketers.
The DG disclosed that someone asked her when the results were going to come out, adding that the Agency had 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.”
She insisted that the implicated foreign noodles are not in Nigeria, hence, the locally produced noodles are safe for human consumption.
