By Tunji Wusu –
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has stated that all noodles manufactured in Nigeria are safe for consumption after conducting research into the presence of ethylene oxide or its metabolite in noodles and their spices.
On Thursday, Prof. Christianah Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, informed journalists in Lagos of this.
She claimed that all instant noodles manufactured in Nigeria are safe for human consumption because neither ethylene oxide nor a derivative of it could be discovered in any of the spices used in any of the instant noodles made in Nigeria.
“Mycotoxin and heavy metal levels were within the internationally acceptable limit,” she stated. As a result, eating Nigerian noodles is highly safe.
Samples of chicken-flavored instant noodles from different brands were obtained from manufacturing plants all around the nation.
“This was done to make sure that the inquiry was thorough and included other instant noodle products made in Nigeria in addition to the implicated brand, Indomie.
The Post Marketing Surveillance Division also toured marketplaces and retail establishments in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano’s major cities, collecting instant noodle samples for lab evaluation.
The visits to the markets were done to keep an eye out for the Taiwanese and Malaysian unique chicken noodles in the Nigerian market.
The samples were taken from manufacturing facilities and the trade, and they were carefully packaged and brought to our central laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos, where analytical activities got started right away using procedures and standards that are accepted around the world.
Adeyeye continued by stating that the technique was applied by the agency utilizing Gas Chromatography with a Mass Spectrometry detector and that 114 samples of instant noodles and spices were received in total.
She described the substance of interest as ethylene oxide, an odorless, colorless gas used to sterilize medical equipment that has been linked to cancer.
She explained: “We did not only analyze for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-Chloroethanol in the noodles and seasonings; we also analysed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples.”
The probe, according to PUNCH, was prompted by the recalls of Indomie Instant Noodles ‘Special Chicken Flavour’ by the Malaysian and Taiwanese Ministries of Health due to the potential presence of ethylene oxide, a substance linked to an elevated risk of cancer.
