By Hassan Zaggi
Following the suspected presence of the Ethylene oxide, a chemical linked to lymphoma and leukemia, in the seasoning packets of the Indomie chicken special variant in Taiwan and Malaysia, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), will, on tomorrow (Tuesday) commence investigation of Indomie noodles.
A statement by the NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that, “NAFDAC’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate will randomly sample Indomie noodles (including the seasoning) from the production facilities while Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate samples from the markets.
“The compound of interest is ethylene oxide, so the Director, Food Lab Services Directorate has been engaged. He is working on the methodology for the analysis.”
The statement recalled that Indomie noodles have been banned from being imported into the country for many years.
It is one of the foods on the government prohibition list. It is not allowed in Nigeria, and therefore not registered by NAFDAC.
“What we are doing is an extra caution to ensure that the product is not smuggled in, and if so, our post marketing surveillance would detect it.
“We also want to be sure that the spices used for the Indomie and other noodles in Nigeria are tested.
“That is what NAFDAC Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) are doing this week at the production facilities and in the market, respectively,” the statement said.
The Director General, however, assured that the general public will be duly updated with the outcomes of the investigation.
