The director General of the National Agency for Food and Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Moji Adeyeye, has warned Nigerians to refrain from eating cooked food stored in the refrigerator for more than three days.
Adeyeye cautioned that cooked food stored in the refrigerator for days is susceptible to contamination by disease-causing pathogens, key agents of foodborne diseases that can lead to death.
Adeyeye said this in a statement commemorating the 2024 World Food Safety Day with the theme, ‘Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected’, The statement released on Tuesday and signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola urged stakeholders in the food supply chain to take deliberate actions to institute a food safety culture in their operations to mitigate food hazards and risks that could compromise food safety.
The statement partly read, “She however, urged Nigerians to refrain from storing cooked food in the refrigerator for more than three days, warning that cooked food stored in the refrigerator for days is susceptible to contamination by disease-causing pathogens, key agents of foodborne diseases that can lead to death.”
“Let us all stay true to the statements ‘food safety is everyone’s business’ and ‘food safety is a shared responsibility’ as we celebrate this year’s World Food Safety Day. Working together, we will continue to strengthen our food safety system, ensuring its resilience, robustness, and preparedness for the unexpected,” she said.
Also, speaking, the Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Mrs. Eva Edwards, warned that foodborne diseases are expensive, yet they are preventable.
Edwards emphasized the significance of food as a necessity for human life, stressing that it can also be a source of harm if not handled properly.
She stated that food safety emergency response must be anchored on a multisectoral, collaborative, integrated one-health approach across the health, agriculture, and environment sectors, the tiers of government including relevant external partners and non-governmental organizations.
‘’Let’s all play our part in promoting the culture of good hygiene practices in our homes, communities, and food establishments. Together we can ensure a safer and healthier food supply for everyone,” she noted.
The World Food Safety Day celebrated annually on June 7 was established by the United Nations General Assembly task force in 2018 to raise awareness and encourage efforts to prevent, detect and address public health risks linked to unsafe food.
