Yam, Orange, Other Farm Produce Not Under Control Of NAFDAC — DG

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has clarified that it does not regulate produce from farms, but processed products.

It explained that naturally grown food items, including yams, oranges, and apples, are under the control of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

According to her, “the National Food and Safety Policy said that produce from the farm is not under the control of NAFDAC. NAFDAC is in control of semi-processed products.

“In terms of sister agencies, the civil service is amazing; people like to work in silos. ‘This is my turf, don’t go there.’ No, we are supposed to work corporately.

“So, in the social media thing that we responded to, they said apples, NAFDAC; oranges, NAFDAC. No, that is under the Ministry of Agriculture, but we are supposed to work together because it is that produce that can be processed, which is under our control.

“So, when you take your oranges in the morning, you take your apple, that is not NAFDAC, but everything is about NAFDAC — yam is NAFDAC; fufu is NAFDAC. No,” Adeyeye, added.

NAIJAONPOINT repirrs that The NAFDAC DG’s comment came days after former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo recalled in a viral video how a lab test showed that the fresh juice squeezed by his wife was unsafe for consumption.

While speaking at the Open Day for Gardeners’ seminar themed “Leaving The Earth Better Than We Found It,” he said that his wife started having strange headaches after drinking her fresh juice every day.

There have been widespread concerns over the use of dangerous chemicals in the production and preservation of food items, including fruit, fufu, and beans.