The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued a strong warning to Nigerians over the consumption of fruits forcefully ripened with harmful chemicals, particularly calcium carbide.
The warning was delivered on Monday during a one-day sensitisation programme on food quality standards organised by the agency in Ado-Ekiti.
Executive Chairman of FCCPC, Mr. Olatunji Bello, represented by the Director of Quality Assurance, Mrs. Nkechi Mba, condemned the growing sale of adulterated and contaminated foods in markets, describing it as a major risk to public health.
Health risks of calcium carbide
Bello explained that calcium carbide contains toxic elements that pose severe risks to human health.
” Such alarming trends include principally, the forceful ripening of fruits, using harmful chemicals, such as calcium carbide, which contains trace amounts of arsenic and phosphorus, both of which are highly toxic to humans,” he said.
The FCCPC boss lamented that these practices not only endanger the lives of millions of Nigerians but also weaken consumer trust and compromise the country’s food system.
Bello assured Nigerians that the commission would clamp down on violators, stressing that full enforcement of the law has commenced.
According to him, the sensitisation programme is the first step to alert unsuspecting consumers while sending red signal to defiant perpetrators.
He disclosed that the FCCPC had already intervened in several cases through regular market surveys, which led to the shutdown of facilities, sanctions, and prosecution of offenders.
” These practices not only endanger the lives of millions of Nigerians, but they also erode consumer trust, and sabotage the integrity of our food systems,” Bello added.
More insights
To strengthen enforcement, Bello revealed that the FCCPC is working closely with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), as well as the Federal Ministries of Health and Agriculture.
He added that consumers also have a responsibility to carefully inspect what they purchase from farms and markets.
The agency’s Director of Consumer and Business Education, Mr. Yahaya Kudan, said the sensitisation programme reflects the FCCPC’s commitment to empowering stakeholders across the food supply chain.
Kudan said the agency remains dedicated to educating farmers, vendors, consumers, and businesses on safe and fair practices in food production and distribution.
The sensitisation programme brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from NAFDAC, SON, Federal and Ekiti State Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and Trade, Commerce and Investment.
Also in attendance were members of the Ekiti Consumer Protection Commission, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Yam Farmers Association, and Cassava Growers.
