Much Ado About Food Safety Regulation In Nigeria

Abstract

About 1 in 10 people in the world fall sick after eating food contaminated
through improper farming, processing, preservation and services. In Nigeria,
more than 200,000 persons die of food poison annually, caused by
contaminated foods. The cost of illnesses associated with foodborne diseases
in Nigeria is estimated at US$ 3.6 billion per annum. Though there is poor
data collection on foodborne outbreaks, evidence exists to show that these
contribute to ill health and death in the country as well as reduce productivity
and economic growth. Studies and existing facts reveal that law makers,
enforcement officers, regulators, food handlers and even the consuming public
do not take food safety very seriously. This article examines the varied cases
of foodborne outbreaks in Nigeria with the aim to assess the role and ambit
of food safety regulations in Nigeria. It seeks to determine whether the present
regulatory framework permits adequate regulation of the informal sector
that serves the majority of the Nigerian consumers. While observing various
challenges that may be encountered by the regulators, it offers
recommendations on issues that require legislative reforms and pragmatic
approaches in tackling the regulatory challenges. It concludes that the intergovernmental and the multi-agency cooperation envisaged by the National
Policy on Food Safety and its Implementation Strategy, 2014, will be better
achieved if the definition of “food” in the food laws are extended, in line with
best practices and current realities, to allow for comprehensive regulation
and coordination of the food chain system.