The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has cautioned Nigerians against buying animal hides, popularly known as ponmo and eating same.
A statement signed by the Director-General of the agency, Moji Adeyeye, said that investigations revealed that, ”unscrupulous businessmen and traders are now diverting animal hides meant for industrial use into the food chain for consumption.”
Adeyeye also alleged that some of the companies illegally imported hides from countries such as Lebanon and Turkey.
She said that majority of the products was smuggled into the country through its porous borders.
The statement highlighted some of the dangers inherent in such animal hides which include the risk of liver, kidney and heart damage, increased risk of Anthrax ( which symptoms include cough, fever, muscle aches) and if not diagnosed and treated early, lead to pneumonia, severe lung problems, difficulty in breathing, shock and eventually death.
NAFDAC listed other risk associated with the consumption of the hides meant for industrial use to include anaemia, central nervous system, toxicity and cancer.
The DG blamed businessmen who imported and smuggled hides from countries such as Lebanon and Turkey into the country as being responsible for exposing Nigerians to dangers associated with it
The NAFDAC boss expressed grave concerns over the effects of such practices, saying that, “These imported animal hides are meant for industrial use by leather industries for the manufacture of items such as shoes, bag, belt etc. The hides, therefore, are pretreated with industrial chemicals which are not of food-grade and will be toxic and injurious to human health.”
On the dangers associated with the consumption of such products, she disclosed that, “Health hazards inherent in the consumption of such animal hides include risk of Liver, Kidney and Heart damage, increased risk of Aplastic anaemia, central nervous system toxicity and cancer, among others.
She concluded by saying that livestock farmers should appreciate the fact that industrial animal hides cannot be used to manufacture animal feed based on the fact that all associated chemicals will be stored up in the tissues of the animals.
She stressed that this would in turn, end up in humans when consumed and may leaf to any of the negative health conditions already enumerated.
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