Director General of the National Agency for Food and Administration and Control, Prof Moji Adeyeye, has warned Nigerians against consuming cooked food stored in the refrigerator for more than three days, saying it could potentially lead to death.
According to her, such food is susceptible to contamination by disease-causing pathogens, key agents of foodborne diseases that can lead to death.
In a statement on Tuesday signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, Adeyeye was quoted to have issued the warning in commemoration of the 2024 World Food Safety Day with the theme, ‘Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected.’
She advised stakeholders in the food supply chain to take deliberate actions to institute a food safety culture in their operations to mitigate food hazards and risks that could compromise food safety.
Adeyeye noted that food safety is not only important for public health but a sine qua non for economic development and food security, adding that it is a collective responsibility and everyone, from producers to consumers, needs to play their part to ensure food safety.
The director-general said the campaign aims to promote global food safety awareness to strengthen efforts of preventing, detecting, and managing foodborne risks globally by highlighting the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 600 million – almost one in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food, and 420,000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years.
The WHO also said $110 billion is lost yearly in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries.
