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Safe food requires shared responsibility, not shared excuses 12 Oct 2026

Last month, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) responded to several consumer complaints about the high rate of food adulteration and contamination of many commonly consumed food items. The Director-General of the agency, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that the agency does not have direct regulatory oversight of unbranded palm oil, fufu – a West African staple made from fermented cassava – fresh fruits, and other traditionally packaged staple foods sold in open markets. 

The agency said its primary food regulatory responsibilities cover processed and packaged products, and it urged sub-national authorities to strengthen monitoring within their jurisdictions. NAFDAC also raised concerns about palm oil adulterated with azo dyes. For consumers, however, one question immediately arises: if these foods fall outside NAFDAC's direct regulatory oversight, who is responsible for ensuring they are safe?

A dangerous tendency is to view food safety as the responsibility of a single agency. It is not. Ensuring food safety spans several spheres: the federal government, state and local governments, farmers, food processors, food transporters, market operators, food vendors, environmental health officers, and consumers. 

But shared responsibility should never mean shared excuses. If a consumer buys palm oil in an open market, fresh fruit from a roadside vendor, or traditionally processed food such as fufu, they should not have to guess whether the food is safe. For this to happen, there must be strict monitoring and penalties for violations. Food safety should be a reasonable expectation, not a matter of luck.

The danger of unsafe food is sometimes underestimated because food contamination is often associated primarily with immediate illnesses such as diarrhoea, vomiting, or other acute reactions linked to food poisoning. But some hazards do not always announce themselves so dramatically. Some contaminants can accumulate in the body or cause significant damage over time, contributing to chronic diseases, including cancers, chronic organ failures involving the kidney and liver, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders, among others. Food contamination can be biological (harmful microbes), chemical, or physical. 

Microbial contamination can occur when food or water is contaminated with microbes such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and other pathogens. Such contamination can happen through poor hand hygiene, contaminated water, dirty utensils, inadequate cooking, poor storage, and exposure to flies and other vectors. Foodborne infections from consuming biologically contaminated foods can progress from mild abdominal pain, fever and dehydration to life-threatening conditions, especially for children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. 

Apart from bacterial agents, aflatoxin, produced by certain fungi, is also very concerning because chronic exposure through the food items we consume can damage the liver and is associated with liver cancer. Food items with a high risk of aflatoxin contamination in Nigeria include groundnut, maize, melon seeds, and locally fermented condiments such as locust beans, tomatoes and peppers (visible as a whitish substance in open or damaged tomatoes), and onions (visible as black and white moulds), among others. 

Chemical contaminants and adulterants are toxic compounds that come into contact with food during farming, processing, or cleaning. Some, such as calcium carbide, are used by traders to hasten fruit ripening, while dichlorvos, commonly known as sniper, is used to preserve dried fish. Other chemicals are used to retain the freshness of fruits and vegetables or to increase volume for higher profit, as in the addition of industrial/azo dyes to palm oil. 

The presence of these chemicals in food is a serious food-safety issue that requires urgent, ongoing attention. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and nickel can enter the food chain through contaminated soil, water, and farming equipment, and can accumulate to high levels depending on the type of heavy metal, affecting the nervous system, kidneys, and other human organs. 

Physical contamination refers to the presence of tangible objects in food that could cause harm, choking, or injury to the consumer. These include metals such as machine shavings, loose bolts, and broken wires; plastics; sand; stones; shells; strings; hair; and jewellery. 

According to a recently published report on food safety by the World Health Organisation (WHO), contaminated food can cause more than 200 diseases, with approximately 866 million people falling ill from consuming contaminated food each year and more than a million people dying from it globally. Food contamination not only devastates individuals but also impedes socioeconomic development by overburdening health care systems. Globally, unsafe food consumption costs up to $310 billion annually in productivity losses and health expenses.

In Nigeria, contaminated food causes more than 53,000 deaths and nearly 50 million illnesses each year, according to a 2026 report by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Therefore, the country must shift from reacting to food contamination and poisoning to proactive prevention strategies. Although the health ministry has identified key components for ensuring food safety, including food inspection, science-based public education, and surveillance, the challenge has been translating these commitments into consistent action at the various points where contaminated items are sold. 

Government at every level has responsibilities. The Federal government must continue to strengthen national standards, regulatory laboratory capacity, surveillance, risk assessment, and coordination to ensure food safety across the country. At the state level, ministries and state agencies responsible for food safety and consumer protection must have the personnel, equipped laboratories, transport funding, and legal mechanisms needed to conduct continuous inspections and enforce the law to curb the use of harmful substances in food. 

Local governments must also improve environmental health services and ensure that markets, food premises, and vendors within their jurisdictions are properly monitored to prevent them from becoming regulatory blind spots. Market authorities are not exempt. Every market should have basic sanitation, safe water, appropriate waste disposal, and hygienic food display. They must work with local government authorities to establish systems to identify and bring perpetrators of food adulteration to justice, and to remove unsafe products from markets. Food vendors and processors must recognise that poverty or the need to make higher profits is not a licence to compromise public health. Affordable foods can still be produced and handled hygienically.

Citizens and consumers are not powerless either. Consumers should prioritise their own safety by avoiding food items simply because they are cheaper, brighter, bigger or more attractive. Consumers have a responsibility to ask questions to learn more about what they buy or consume. Questions such as "Where did this food item come from?", "How was it produced?", "Was it exposed to chemicals?", "Was it stored properly?", "Is the vendor handling it hygienically?" and "Is the product appropriately labelled?" can help protect consumers. If you suspect a product, report it to the appropriate authorities rather than assuming someone else will. 

A visible, coordinated food safety system is needed at points where consumers encounter food. Every state should clearly publicise the agencies responsible for food safety, including their specific responsibilities and reporting channels. State and local governments should invest in routine, risk-based surveillance of open markets, particularly for high-risk commodities and products commonly adulterated with hazardous chemicals. 

Food-testing laboratories within government agencies and mobile testing capacity should be strengthened so that inspectors can identify unsafe products based on concrete evidence rather than appearance. As much as possible, environmental health offices need adequate staffing, training, equipment, and operational funding to support effective oversight and enforcement. 

Nigeria needs stronger food traceability and reporting systems that consumers can readily access when contaminated foods are discovered. Food safety education must become a continuous public effort through media platforms and campaigns. From farms to markets, markets to kitchens, and kitchens to plates, food safety should become everybody’s business, and accountability must underpin that responsibility to protect public health.  

Mojisola Karigidi, PhD, a Financial Nigeria columnist, is a Nigerian biochemist and the founder and product developer at Moepelorse Bio Resources. She is also a Global Innovation Through Science and Technology awardee and an Aspen New Voices Fellow.