Cancer scare: We’ve banned importation of Indomie noodles – NAFDAC

Director-General, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye

By Chioma Obina

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has reaffirmed that the agency has banned the importation of Indomie noodles into the country.

The Director General of the Agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, reiterated this in a press statement Monday.

This is coming on the heels of the recalling of indomie noodles by Taiwan and Malaysia authorities following the discovery of ethylene oxide, a cancer causing agent.

According to the NAFDAC boss, the compound of interest was ethylene oxide said already the Director of Food Lab Services Directorate has been engaged and has started working on the methodology for the analysis.

The statement reads in parts,” Indomie noodles have been banned from being imported into the country for many years. It is one of the foods on the government prohibition list. It is not allowed in Nigeria, and therefore not registered by NAFDAC.

“What we are doing is an extra caution to ensure that the product is not smuggled in, and if so, our post marketing surveillance would detect it. We also want to be sure that the spices used for the Indomie and other noodles in Nigeria are tested.

“That is what NAFDAC Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) are doing this week at the production facilities and in the market, respectively.”

She however promised that the Nigerians will be duly updated with the outcomes of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the agency said it will begin random sampling of indomie noodles including the seasoning from the production facilities tomorrow (Tuesday).

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, ethylene oxide is a colourless, highly reactive, end flammable gas widely used as an intermediate in the production of various chemicals.

WHO in a report noted that findings from animal investigations, test systems, and epidemiological findings suggested an increase in the incidence of human cancer, adding that the report concludes that ethylene oxide should be considered as a probable human carcinogen, and that its levels in the environment should be kept as low as feasible.