Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticized the federal government for its role in the use of saccharine by bread manufacturers instead of sugar. His comments come in response to revelations from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) regarding the quality of bread sold in Nigeria.
Mrs. Roseline Ajayi, NAFDAC’s SouthWest Coordinator, reported at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, that many bread producers are substituting sugar with saccharine due to the high cost of sugar. This practice has led to bread failing lab tests, as saccharine is less healthy for consumers compared to sugar.
“We observed that bread sold in the markets is failing laboratory tests because producers are using saccharine. They are introducing ingredients that are not good for the health of the consumers,” Mrs. Ajayi said. She emphasized that NAFDAC will uphold its standards despite the economic challenges.
In response, Shaibu argued that the federal government’s failure to address the concerns of bread manufacturers about foreign exchange issues is to blame for this situation. He pointed out that the government ignored the manufacturers’ pleas last November, leading them to rely on saccharine as a cheaper alternative.
Shaibu expressed his frustration on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “When breadmakers voiced their forex woes last November, did the government heed their call? Surely, an esteemed agency such as yours ought to have envisioned the inevitability of manufacturers resorting to copious amounts of preservatives to sustain their enterprises.”
Discussion about this post