FG Raises Alarm As Poisonous Tomato Paste Floods Nigeria

The Federal Government has said that more than 80 percent of tomato paste being imported and consumed by Nigerians are poisonous.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, during a budget defense at the National Assembly on Thursday.

Ogbeh further disclosed that the imported paste were found harmful to human health after the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) subjected them to laboratory tests.

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He said that government may have no option other than to ban tomato pastes imported.

While assuring Nigerians of government’s commitment to retract the rising costs of food items in the markets, Ogbeh noted that recent reports by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicate an 11% increase in the country’s grains production.

Meanwhile THE WHISTLER recalls that value-chain operators in the tomato paste industry had warned of a potential collapse in the country’s tomato paste manufacturing industry if the Central Bank of Nigeria failed to amend is ‘harsh’ forex policies.

About 1,500 Nigerians lost their jobs in 2016 when a local tomato paste manufacture, Erisco Foods Limited, closed shop in the country, citing similar reasons.

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