Imported Poisonous Tomato Pastes Circulating In Nigerian Market - Audu Ogbehh

Eighty percent of tomato pastes imported into Nigeria are poisonous and not fit for human consumption, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has said.
The minister made the disclosure during budget defence at the National Assembly yesterday.
He said laboratory tests conducted by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) revealed that the imported pastes are harmful to human health.
Ogbeh who attributed the escalation of kidney, liver and cancer diseases in the country to consumption of poisonous preserved foods, said the Federal Government will soon ban the importation of tomato paste.
Even before now, it has been reported that some brands of tomato paste in the Nigerian market have been found to be contaminated with starch, sugar, citric acid and fibre that are all harmful for human consumption.According to investigators, the products were imported from China.
Like fermentation, the acidity of the products is not in the right quantity and therefore reduces the quality of the products.
Nigeria Natural Health Online learnt that the situation is causing much anxiety among the consuming public who believe that these products could have adverse effects on their health.
According to sources, these imported products are cheaper than the locally made tomato pastes.
Investigations revealed that these imported tomato pastes contain sugar, acid and other additives, which are thick and had better taste and colour.
According to a food specialist,  “The only ingredient we add in our processing is salt, which is to help preserve it.
These importers are flooding the markets with inferior goods. “Very soon, if care is not taken some of the local manufacturers would also start adding these dangerous additives to their products.
“The acids that are added to the paste are bad even if it does not harm consumers".
“The only additives which are permitted in tomato pastes are spices, vegetable products and salt but not sugar glucose or acid,” he added..
“We are also planning to meet the importers of tomato pastes in the country to address the issue.”
“Other countries do not allow the consumption of these products, so it is forbidding in this country," he said.
He therefore advised the public to be on the look out for such harmful products on the market.