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Narrates Shocking Finds About Fruits Consumed by Nigerians
- Safiu Kehinde
Former Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has raised critical questions over foods safety in the country as he narrated shocking finds about fruits consumed by Nigerians.
Osinbajo expressed concern over the use of dangerous chemicals in fruits and vegetables preservation.
The ex-President made this known while speaking during a progamme hosted by Open Day Gardeners last month.
In a clip of his address posted on X at the weekend, Osibanjo recounted how her wife, Dolapo Osinbajo, had developed a strange headache from consuming freshly squeezed orange juice.
‘I can tell you a story very quickly. Dolly, my dear wife always like to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day- a very healthy habit by the way especially because she stopped drinking coke, Fanta, or any of those carbonated drinks.
‘And she will look at my own coke drinking habits with a lot of disapproval. After a while, she started having some strange headaches from drinking her fresh juice every day.
‘She checked everything she was drinking and eating, wondering what the cause of this could be.
‘Of course it couldn’t possbily be the healthy orange juice.
‘It must have been something else. But after nothing showed up, she sent one of her freshly squeezed orange juice batches to a lab for testing.’ He said.
Osinbajo disclosed that the result of the test confirmed the use of dangerous pesticide on the fruit which rendered it non-fit for human consumption.
‘The results came back. It showed that the orange juice freshly squeezed as not fit for human consumption.
‘So, what happened. Apparently, farmers use dangerous pesticides for fruit and vegetables. Vegetable sellers use very dangerous chemicals sometimes to ripe or preserve fruits and vegetables.
‘Calcium carbide is used very frequently to force fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaws, and tomatoes to change colour very quickly to look ripe very quickly.’ He said.
The ex-vice president cited several studies which established the use of calcium carbide and other toxic chemicals by vegetables and fruits sellers.
‘There was a study in 2024 in Ado-Ekiti, they found that half of the 20 fruit sellers interviewed admitted using calcium carbide. Another study in New York confirmed that 25 percent of fruit sellers used calcium carbide.
‘In Lagos here, there was a survey done in 2023. 50 fruits and vegetable retailers were surveyed. 22 of them admitted to using chemicals to preserve the produce.
‘This is almost like an epidemic. The substances that they named that they used aside from calcium carbide include Gamelin 20, which as you know, is Sniper, phosphite. Phosphite is a highly toxic fumigant used for fumigation. DDT.’ Osinbajo said.
He called for stronger regulation and enforcement while also charging members of the public to take proactive measures in identifying those engaged in the dangerous act.
‘So the fact that fruit looks fresh doesn’t mean that they are safe.
‘And the fact that a drink is natural doesn’t mean that something dangerous has not been added to it along the way, especially along the journey from the farm to the table.
‘This calls for stronger regulation, stronger enforcement. It also calls for great awareness.
‘Farmers and traders must be educated about safe alternatives. Consumers must learn to ask questions and report suspicious practises.
‘One of the things I think we should bear in mind all the time is that it is people like you and I who take on this causes and campaign in our local communities and ensure that things change. Government regulation needs to be enforced.
‘But in the country this size, we have to be active ourselves. Individuals need to be active in their own communities to ensure that these things are reported.’ He said.