Posted by Adeze Ojukwu and Florence Udoh on
NATIONAL Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised alarm over the flooding of the markets nationwide by killer bread baked by unscrupulous elements.
NATIONAL Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised alarm over the flooding of the markets nationwide by killer bread baked by unscrupulous elements.
The agency claimed the samples of the bread obtained from various market contained harmful substance called potassium bromate which causes abdominal cancer, thyroid cancer and liver cancer.
Bread, a staple on the table of many families, is sold virtually everywhere especially at bus stops and in traffic jams.
Interestingly, NAFDAC findings showed that notable bread makers indulged in the use of the poisonous substance as enhancer but deceive the consumer with labels indicating that the bread is bromate free.
Consequent upon these shock findings, NAFDAC descended on the bakers yesterday in Lagos and sealed off 12 popular bakeries scattered in and around Lagos, over alleged use of the banned substance.
One of the renowned bakeries, Health Production and Farms Limited, makers of "Freshbake" bread was among those which fell to the hammer of the agency.
Addressing newsmen during the exercise, NAFDAC's chief regulatory officer, Establishment and Inspectorate Division, Mrs. Abisola Adekoya said "the agency has intensified nationwide crack-down on users of potassium bromate in bread making following recent surveillance activities and laboratory tests indicating widespread use of bromate as bread improvers by bakers.
The agency also regretted that "despite all warnings and enlightenment campaigns carried out on the health hazards of potassium bromate, some bakers still use the toxic product.
Mrs. Adekoya however pointed out that any baker found to be using potassium bromate or any unapproved bread enhancers would have their bakeries sealed off and all the loaves of bread found destroyed while the baker would be sanctioned and made to pay a stipulated fine of N50,000.
She listed defaulting bakeries and bread brands ordered to be shut down in Lagos as Trandos Special Bread, Choice Super Loaf, Folake Super Loaf, Tee Bite Bread and People Delight Loaf.
Also Surefoot Bakery, located at No 1 Akanni Egbeyemi Street, Agege was sealed for use of the chemical.
The bakery is the maker of Peoples' Delite Loaf, a popular bread in Agege area.
Others are Unity Ghanwa Buttered Bread, Glory Super Loaf an unbranded bread at Ifako, also in Lagos.
She said other defaulting bakeries included Onitsha-based Chibe Milk Bread, Goodwill Buttered Bread, and Ngozi Buttered Bread as well as Kate's Bakery, Enugu and Owerri-based Sam David and Mother Care Bakeries. Officials of some of the offending factories who put up resistance to the sealing off order, denied the allegation, saying there is no bromate in their bread. "We do not use bromate here," they claimed
The Fresh Bake General Manager, Mr. Ibrahim Zeaidan, a foreigner, also denied the charges insisting "the factory is a leading bread maker with modern bakeries and facilities and cannot use bromate because it is injurious."
However, NAFDAC solicited support of the public in the on-going raids on factories and individuals indulging in criminal activities that are capable of endangering health of Nigerians.
In addition, the agency warned that "all bakeries based on emerging laboratory analysis, found culpable will be shut down and appropriately sanctioned."
Furthermore Mrs. Adekoya said "the agency would embark on street seizures and destruction of bread without labels indicating full addresses of bakeries in compliance with regulatory practice.