Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has urged Nigerians to eat safe and nutritious foods to boost immunity and improve natural defences against disease.
She also stated that Nigerians do not require medicines if they eat properly, emphasising that proper eating entails making healthy food choices from safe, wholesome, and nutritious foods.
Adeyeye made the admonition in Abuja yesterday at the NAFDAC celebration of the 4th World Food Safety Day 2022 with the theme “Safer Food, Better Health”, where she opined that if food is unsafe, we cannot achieve our nutritional goals.
She stated that safe food is an essential component of sustainable development because it improves public health, reduces poverty, and increases food security.
The DG stated that the theme for this year is very appropriate, as the world gradually returns to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic has lost its firm grip on the world, and that it also aligns with the World Health Assembly 75 theme, which is Health for Peace and Peace for Health.
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She went on to say that safer food is at the forefront of better health and relative personal and global peace. “You’ve all heard my popular adage about not needing medicine if you eat right. Eating right entails making healthy food choices from safe, wholesome, and nutritious sources”.
She stated that safe food is an essential component of sustainable development because it improves public health, reduces poverty, and increases food security.
The DG emphasised that World Food Safety Day provides an additional opportunity to raise awareness about food safety and position it as a major public health concern, particularly given the importance of safe, wholesome food in boosting immunity and improving the body’s natural defences against disease.
Adeyeye expressed regret that these foods are frequently exposed to unsanitary and unsanitary conditions, resulting in contamination and outbreaks of foodborne diseases, situations that are rapidly becoming significant food safety concerns.
The NAFDAC chief stated that unsafe foods are the root cause of many diseases and contribute to other health problems such as stunted growth and development.
“We recognise that food safety is a shared responsibility and that everyone has a role to play in ensuring safer food for better health, from growers to processors, transporters, sellers, buyers, and those who prepare or serve food. Policymakers, educational institutions, and workplaces, as well as consumers, are all responsible for food safety. “We must all work together to make food safer for better health,” she said.
