Nigeria fruits market: How unhealthy practices endanger the lives of consumers

By Daniel Adaji

Haruna Ademu is a middle-aged man resident in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja. Too busy to prepare some of his food, Haruna considered patronizing fast-food spots and fruit vendors a better option to meet his food needs, an act that had almost cost him his life according to him.

Mr. Haruna had recently recovered through what he called divine intervention from a kidney disorder because of the consumption of some fruits, especially watermelon and sweet melon.

He noted that although it was not his first time-consuming such fruits, he noticed that the particular one he bought from a roadside vendor caused him serious pain.

In his words, Haruna said; “I had always thought that to stay healthy, you need to consume fruits and other vegetables while also exercising as experts recommend. At one point, I was adding weight excessively, so I decided to cut down on my carbohydrates and limit late night foods. This was after a health expert advised me to go on diets. I decided to patronize fruits vendors I could find around. On a particular day, I got some fruits particularly “sweet melon” (Honeydew fruit) and watermelon from a roadside vendor which almost made me a patient of kidney disorder. I initially noticed pains around my sides which later gravitated into frequent urination, and I could not sleep soundly at night. I was bothered and decided to contact my sister who said I might need to carry out a kidney function test. Although I could not afford the test at that time, I noticed that when I stopped eating fruits for some days, the urination stopped. Out of curiosity, I went online to find out why fruits could have caused kidney disorder and I realized that some chemicals in fruits could cause health problems.”

Although, it is not clear whether Haruna’s health disorder was a result of consuming those fruits, according to available research, Acetylene gas can also cause various health problems, such as nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, skin irritation, respiratory distress, kidney damage, and cancer.

Calcium carbide is also used for welding and metal cutting purposes, and it can contain traces of arsenic and phosphorus, which are also harmful to human health.

Anthony Odeyemi, a medical doctor at the Federal Medical Centre Lokoja, Kogi State opined that many patients who had suffered some lifestyle health disorder like cancer must have at some points consumed some of the artificially ripen or chemically preserved foods.

According to him, it is a common sense to link artificially ripen fruits to cancer, kidney disease, liver damage and the likes however, there are paucity of data regarding patients whose ailment stem from foods or fruits loaded with harmful chemicals like carbide especially in Nigeria.

“There is paucity of data on the diseases or patients affected by the foods or fruits in Nigeria but from a common sense, as a medical practitioner, I can tell you that cancer, kidney failure, liver diseases and the likes stem from consumption of harmful chemicals like carbide. Studies need to be conducted to ascertain its direct/specific impact on health of an individual,” he said.

 

The quest for fast supply and quick gain has motivated many vendors to cut corners in making these fruits available to the public.

The demand for fruits is always on the increase in urban Nigeria. This is observed in the volume of fruits entering into the market in major cities in the country.

NatureNews investigations carried out at Bwari Market of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, revealed that most fruits (oranges, mangoes, bananas and watermelon) were ripened using calcium carbide, a harmful chemical to human health.

The taste of some of the samples of fruits indicated that they were not ripe but forced. For instance, some of the bananas were confirmed to have tart taste even though they are soft and look ripe.

It was also observed that despite being off-season, many mango fruits were in the market with fresh indication of carbide- whitish powder-like substance on their body.

A trader in one of the major food markets in Bwari area council of the FCT was observed bargaining an unripe banana bunch and was capitalizing on the price of carbide to beat down the price of the fruit.

In her words; “You don’t want to buy this small banana bunch for N4, 000 naira. Don’t you know I still have to buy carbide to ripen it?” she said.

NatureNews observed that despite being evident on the body of the fruits, when asked if they used carbide, the traders denied, luring the unsuspecting buyer to purchase the chemical-soaked fruits.

Ms. Goodness Ohiza, a customer, said she could identify when a fruit is forced to ripe but feared that the volume of artificially ripen fruits in the market risk her health since that is the only commercially available means to purchase fruits in the country except if individuals will begin to own their fruit farms.

It is not sure if it is part of the market union’s responsibility to checkmate these unhealthy practices, but it is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure Nigerians purchase safe clean foods at all times from government regulated food markets.

While it is necessary for consumers to observe the fruits before they buy them from the markets, experts have advised that the best way to detect an artificially ripened fruit is by laboratory test.

Ordinary persons could detect the difference by observing the brownish dark spots on naturally ripened fruits and the absence of such in the artificially ripened fruits.

Recall that The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has banned the use of calcium carbide for fruit ripening in Nigeria since 2005.

However, due to lack of awareness, enforcement, and alternatives, many fruit vendors and farmers still resort to this practice

According to Obiazikwor Christiana, Deputy Director in charge of Public Relations, NAFDAC the organization has warned the citizens to stop patronizing artificially ripened fruits especially with the use of carbides.

She noted that the organization would start enforcement of the ban and arrest culprits as soon as the agency is done with the sensitization campaign which is still ongoing.

Christiana also urged the media and consumers to report anyone suspected of selling or using carbide to ripen fruits.

She explained that Calcium Carbide is an explosive chemical, it changes the skin colour of the fruit whilst the fruit remains raw.

Calcium carbide also causes: Diarrhea; Ulcer on the skin, mouth and throat; Burning sensation in the chest and abdomen; Neurological system disorder; Dizziness; Memory loss; Low blood pressure; Cerebral oedema; Kidney and liver diseases.

NAFDAC therefore advises the public to desist from the use of these dangerous chemicals but allow fruits to get ripe naturally on the plant.

She further explained that if fruits must be ripened artificially, NAFDAC has provided three easy and safe ways to ripen fruits: (1) Collect your fruit and put into a paper bag, seal it and wait for a few days; (2) Apple and Banana peel can be added to the fruit to help ripen the fruit because of the large amount of ethylene gas they produce; (3) Direct exposure to sunlight can ripen fruits.

The National Biosafety Management Agency of Nigeria regulates the activities of modern biotechnology.

According to the head of the communications Unit, Gloria Ogbaki, the essence of the regulation is to ensure that the products of modern biotechnology such as Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, Gene Drive, Gene Editing are saved for human health, animal plants and the environment.

Gloria noted that safe modern biotechnology is a very good alternative to chemicals in ripening fruits.

“We do not promote the technology but we regulate like the umpire to ensure that the foods is safe enough for consumption. Our role is to do risk analysis, risk assessment and risk management to ensure that these products to be consumed by humans and animals are safe enough. We assure consumers that whatever the agency has approved is safe because we have done our due diligence and it is as safe as its conventional counterparts such as the BT Cowpea, that’s GM beans. We have ensured that these beans produced out of GMO is as safe as their conventional counterparts. Safe modern biotechnology is a very good alternative for chemicals,” she said.

Like Nigeria, the United States through the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA also regulates rather than promoting GMOs.

In an email reply to NatureNews, the USDA noted that “three federal agencies within the U.S. government work together to regulate most GMOs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ensure that GMOs are safe for human, plant, and animal health. These agencies also monitor the impact of GMOs on the environment.

“FDA regulates most human and animal food, including GMO foods. In doing so, FDA makes sure that foods that are GMOs or have GMO ingredients meet the same strict safety standards as all other foods. FDA sets and enforces food safety standards that those who produce, process, store, ship, or sell food must follow, no matter how the foods are created. EPA is responsible for protecting human health and the environment, which includes regulating pesticides.

“EPA also monitors all other types of pesticidesused on crops, including GMO and non-GMO crops. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) protect agriculture in the United States against pests and disease. APHIS sets regulations to make sure GMO plants are not harmful to other plants, and USDA’s Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) implements these regulations,” the email read.

On a contrary note, an environmental activist, Nnimo Bassey argued that GMOs are not safe for consumption.

In an exclusive interview with NatureNews, he added that; “It is not ideal to consume GMOs. Actually, when people understand the process of genetic manipulation, the uncertainty on what genetic changes may result as well as the implications in the human body; they will not choose to consume them. For example, beans have been genetically modified to include a toxin targeted at pests. This variety has been approved for commercial use in Nigeria since 2019. Do our farmers and the general public/consumers know about this?

“Besides the direct impact that consumption of GMOs can cause, many of the GM crop varieties are so modified to withstand the use of herbicides manufactured mostly by the same companies producing the seeds. The use of these herbicides, especially the glyphosate-containing ones have been linked with several diseases including cancers, immune disorders and birth defects.

“GMOs also bring about serious environmental implications including reduction of biodiversity, soil degradation, contamination of water sources and other issues such loss of indigenous varieties.
Concerning speculations that the western world sponsor advancement of GMOs in the country,” Bassey said.

“Those speculations come from the fact that the National Biosafety Management Agency since it was set up has acted more like a promoter of GMOs than as a regulator. That is why, for example, its immediate past director frequently stated that GMOs were safe. That is why no application for introduction of GMOs into the country has been rejected. That is why objections to such applications sent in based on sound scientific research are not considered. That is why the governing board of this Agency has as a member the National Biotechnology Development Agency – an organisation whose products and conduct the NBMA was set up to regulate.

Such speculations are in order after hearing the former director general of the agency attribute his position to the opportunities provided to him by the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF).

The AAFT is funded by well-known promoters of GMOs who would not put their money to other uses than to push those varieties into Africa.

Those speculations also come from the fact that section 18 of the NBMA Act provides that “The Agency may, accept gifts of land, money or other property or things from within and outside Nigeria, on such terms and conditions, if any as may be specified by person or organization offering the gift.”

Even if the terms and conditions are consistent with the Agency’s functions under the Act, there are insidious ways by which such gifts may unduly influence decision-making. This creates a gap for bribery and corruption under the guise of a ‘gift’,” he said.

According to Mr. Ohida Yusuf a food security expert with Goldmax Chemicals Nigeria Limited, Artificial ripening of fruits is a process that involves the use of chemicals, heat, or other methods to speed up the natural ripening process of fruits.

It is often done by fruit vendors or farmers to increase the shelf life, marketability, and profitability of their products.

“During the natural ripening process, the chemical compositions of the fruits change per time. The fruts contain chemicals that are hazardous to the body system and can only be converted during natural ripening. However, when they are forced to ripe, the chemicals are retained and this predisposed consumers to several lifestyle diseases such as cancer,” he said.

Harvesting Almost-ripe fruits before transport is an ideal way to ensure that the fruits are not spoilt in transit which could be reasons some vendors buy unripe fruits from the farm gates.

He also advised that the fruits vendors should desist from use of the harmful chemicals in ripening and preservation of fruits.

“There are other methods to ripen and preserve fruits. Research is ongoing to ensure these fruits are ripened naturally and also meet up with increasing demands. Also, dry freezing could ensure the ripen fruits are well preserved,” he said.