Ugo Aliogo
In a bid to promote safety of animal feeds produced in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has partnered the Nigeria Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) and other stakeholders to increase awareness on the need for appropriate handling and use of animal feeds and feed additives.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on Risk Assessment in Animal Feed Production in Lagos yesterday, the Director-General, NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said emerging trends in global food safety have revealed that the safety and wellbeing of man depends directly on the animal health and environment.
She stated that in a bid to achieve safety in animal feed, there was need for a multi-disciplinary approach which she noted must be effectively explored.She also noted that Nigeria is yet to explore the livestock sector of international trade.
“The stake of NAFDAC in food safety as entrenched in NAFDAC Act Cap N1 LFN 2004 is to ensure that food available for consumption are safe and of right quality. It is therefore important for the farmers to be cautious on the quality of inputs used on their farms animals and ensure a safe, sound, wholesome product fit for human consumption are churned out human consumption,” she noted.
Adeyeye, who was represented at the event by her Special Assistant, Mr. Williams Effiong, noted that the agency in line with its mandate to ensure animal feed safety, has undertook several regulatory measures to contribute to the production of wholesome animal products in the country.
She added: “The efforts of all stakeholders in this joint task are appreciated. I strongly hope that at the end of today’s workshop, participants will have empowered to improve on the safety policy in their production facilities. “The agency is closely looking at the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirement currently in use to evaluate feed safety and weighing the option of introducing HACCP within the next one year to achieve a safer feed for safer food in Nigeria. This can only achieved with your cooperation and training and re-training of workers that are directly involved in feed production.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Director Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products (VMAP) Directorate, Dr. Bukar Usman, noted that animals raised in confinement and fed defined feeds containing ingredients such as animal waste to antibiotics could expose consumers to unacceptable risks from specific plant and animal disease agents as well as other food contaminants.
Usman added the illegal production, distribution and marketing of animal feeds and feed additive both local and imported must be checked by creating adequate awareness on the risk to consumer, “arising from longterm exposure to low levels of contaminants in food of animal origin obtained from animals that are poorly kept or fed poor.”
