The senate, on Wednesday, summoned National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to provide explanations over the increasing use of harmful chemicals by fruit sellers to induce artificial ripening of fruits across the country.
The senate resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Anthony Ani, titled, “Urgent need to investigate and halt the continuous unwholesome practice of chemical ripening of fruits in Nigeria.”
While leading the debate on his motion, Ani said ripening of fruits was a natural physiological process that enhanced sweetness, taste, nutrition.
However, he lamented, “What we are seeing today is a dangerous shift towards the use of harmful chemicals in a bid to make fruits look more attractive and ripen faster.”
He explained that while some fruit sellers used relatively safe substances, like ethylene and methyl jasmonate, many others relied on cheaper, hazardous alternatives, such as calcium carbide, ethylene glycol, and ethephon.
Ani said the substances contained impurities, including arsenic and lead.
“Experts and regulatory agencies have warned that these chemicals can cause serious health problems, such as cancer, kidney and liver failure, neurological disorders, and even death,” Ani said.
The senator expressed sadness that the practice was on the rise in Nigeria.
He said, “Many of the fruit sellers are unaware of the health hazards. They are driven by profit, and consumers are unknowingly buying poison simply because the fruits look good on the outside.”
He added that some of the chemicals had been banned in many countries, but continued to be used indiscriminately in Nigeria.
Ani stated, “There is an urgent need to protect public health by ensuring that our fruit markets are not turned into toxic zones. People should not suffer health complications from simply trying to eat healthy.”
The senate, in adopting the motion, called on NAFDAC, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate the practice of chemical ripening of fruits in Nigeria.
Lawmakers also urged NAFDAC, National Orientation Agency (NOA), and relevant ministries to intensify public sensitisation and education on the hazardous effects of consuming artificially ripened fruits.
The senate further urged Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and Nigerian Customs Service to ensure that imported fruits, especially apples, were not preserved with harmful substances before reaching Nigerian markets.
In addition, the lawmakers asked NAFDAC and FCCPC to carry out regular visits to fruit markets across the country to inspect and curb the use of dangerous chemicals in fruit ripening.
To strengthen regulatory enforcement, the senate directed its Committee on Legal Matters to begin the process of amending relevant laws to recommend stiffer penalties for perpetrators of such acts.
The upper chamber mandated its Committees on Health and Agriculture to summon NAFDAC to brief the senate on what it had done so far to stop the practice and measures it intended to implement to ensure it did not continue.
Sunday Aborisade
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