The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has declared that noodles in Nigeria are safe.
The cherry news came Thursday in Lagos where the agency made public its findings on the investigation of ethylene oxide or its metabolite in noodles and their seasonings.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Christianah Adeyeye told journalists in Lagos that ethylene oxide or its derivative was not found in any of the instant noodles produced in Nigeria and their seasonings.
“The level of Mycotoxin and the heavy metals were within the internationally acceptable limit. Therefore, the noodles made in Nigeria are very safe to eat”, Adeyeye affirmed.
NAFDAC investigation was triggered by the recalls of Indomie Instant Noodles ‘Special Chicken Flavour’ by the Ministries of Health in Malaysia and Taiwan on account of the alleged presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer.
Adeyeye said: “Samples of chicken flavoured instant noodles of various brands and the seasonings were drawn from the production facilities across the country as this was to ensure that the investigation was robust, covering other instant noodles brands manufactured in Nigeria, besides Indomie, the implicated brand.
“The Post Marketing Surveillance Division also visited markets/retail outlets in the major cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Kano and drew samples of instant noodles for laboratory analysis as the market visits was served as surveillance for the presence of the Taiwan and Malaysian special chicken noodles in the Nigerian market.
“The samples drawn from production facilities and trade were properly packaged and delivered in good condition to our Central Laboratory, Oshodi, Lagos, where analytical activities commenced immediately in accordance with international standards and methods of analysis”.
The Director General disclosed that NAFDAC deployed the technique using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry detector and a total of 114 samples of instant noodles and the seasonings were received.
She explained that the compound of interest, ethylene oxide, is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilize medical devices and has been implicated as a cancer-causing chemical.
Adeyey disclosed that: “We did not only analyze for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-chloroethanol in the noodles and seasonings; we also analyzed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples”.
On the delay in the analytical activities in the laboratory, she said it was not deliberate as they had to place orders for the procurement as well as supply of certified reference materials, reagents and chemicals from overseas.
