Nutrition experts have said Nigerians should stop buying food items sold in dirty environments, warning that such foods are unsafe for consumption.
The nutritionists stated that buying foods from an unhealthy environment poses a significant potential hazard to public health due to poor hygiene and handling practices.
The experts said although purchasing food items from open markets, where it is frequently exposed to animals, insects, and other contaminants has become commonplace in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, the safety of foods sold in a dirty environment remains a public health concern.
The nutritionists who spoke said, advised traders to stop selling food items close to, or on top of refuse dumps, warning that such a dirty environment could introduce bacteria to the foods.
The world health organization in an April 30, 2020 update disclosed that about 600 million – almost one in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food while 420,000 die every year.
The world health body further stated that unsafe food “containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers,” noting that children under five years are exposed to 40 per cent of the food-borne disease, with 125,000 deaths recorded yearly.
A registered nutritionist, Odunayo Babatunde, warned that food items sold in unclean environments may be contaminated with dangerous microbes.
The food expert stressed that millions of people are at risk of illness from buying food items, especially vegetables and fruits from dirty environments.
Babatunde noted that the purchase of food from dirty environments can lead to food poisoning, cholera, and other illnesses.
The Lagos State government has begun to seal open markets across the state for flouting sanitation laws and poor environmental practices.
Markets in popular places like Mushin, Alaba, Mile 12, and Ajah, among others were sealed over ‘severe unhygienic conditions’
Babatunde noted that dirty markets are public health hazards, stressing that the government needs to do more to ensure that the foods the citizens eat are safe.
She maintained that dirty food when ingested can have several health implications.
The nutritionist stressed that fruits and vegetables which are normally eaten in their raw form should never be sold or bought from a dirty environment.
The food expert explained, “Food items and filthy environment should never be in a mix at all. Dirty food when ingested can have several health implications. Fruits and vegetables especially those that are normally eaten in their raw form should never be sold or bought from a dirty environment
“Food sold in a dirty environment is one of the leading causes of food poisoning. Also eating foods and spices from a dirty environment could lead to diarrhoea.
“Furthermore, cholera is easily transmitted through foods sourced from dirty environments. A dirty environment could harbour Lassa fever-causing rats.
“Lassa fever is a very serious disease and one of the reasons why a clean environment is a must when it comes to food
“The seller should maintain high hygiene to prevent the spread of infections such as Lassa fever, cholera, diarrhoea, etc”
On how best the government can intervene, the food expert added, “There is a need for a proper drainage system. Also, a central incinerator should be built in the market where all refuse is thrown and recycled.
“Thursday environmental cleaning should be duly observed and any shop owner found wanting should be fined.”
President of the federation of African nutrition societies, Professor Ngozi Nnam, urged traders to cultivate the habit of keeping their environment clean at all times, noting that proper hygiene is crucial to preventing flies from perching on the food.
Nnam, a professor of community and public health nutrition at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka, stated that when flies perch on food, they contaminate it by depositing harmful bacteria on it.
According to the nutritionist, flies come to perch on foods when the environment is not clean and hygienic, noting that food contaminated by flies may not be fit for human consumption.
Nnam said, “Precisely when food is contaminated, it starts to spoil.
“We should as much as possible avoid those things that can spoil and contaminate food.
“Many things can contaminate your food depending on how you handle the food. Some bacteria are very harmful like staphylococcus bacteria.
“They are very harmful. If we don’t handle our foods properly, they can be contaminated by harmful bacteria and viruses.
“Bacteria and viruses cause all sorts of ill health and this is why we should not allow our foods to be contaminated. Contaminated food will cause diarrhoea and malnutrition.”
The nutritionist pointed out that the bad thing about food being contaminated is that it will start causing ill health.
A study published in the journal of food protection in 2015 examined the dangers of buying food from filthy environments.
The study, which was conducted in India, found that the prevalence of bacteria and other harmful microbes was significantly higher in food sold at roadside stalls than in food sold in markets and supermarkets.
The study also found that the number of people who became ill after eating food from these roadside stalls was much higher than the number of people who became ill after eating food from other sources.
