NAFDAC warns against  use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits

From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned members of the public against purchasing drugs by hawkers and consuming foods that has been ripened with calcium carbide.

The agency gave the admonition at the Federal Secretariat  Uyo during it’s Media Sensitization workshop on dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with calcium carbide.

The workshop was organised for the Association of Health Journalists  for the South South zone of the country.

Speaking during the workshop, Leonard Omokpariola, the director Chemical evaluation and research at agency whose presentation was titled “Dangers of Artificially Ripening Fruits with Calcium Carbides” listed the dangers associated with the use of the substance.

In his words, “The use of this substance is really very big that is why we have come out to do this sensitization,before now, it was just being used for just few fruits but right now it is getting very big.

“Maybe we a result of economic issues in the country, a lot of people do not allow their fruits to ripen before they harvest them and because of the transport infrastructure and the challenge of moving things from the rural area to the urban area this problem is really increasing.

“Calcium Carbide breaks down all the essential nutrients, micro nutrients, minerals and vitamins inside the food and then then into other toxic chemicals in those fruits.

“In addition, the carbide itself has two poisonous substances that is acenic and phospherous which causes cancer, liver damage that is why we came out to stop the use of these substances under any circumstances.

“Those who use these things are causing murder and creating all sorts of problem for our people because when they take these things they become sick and some get cancer  which is very expensive to treat.

‘Foods that are ripened by calcium carbide have a lot of features like dusty particles in it as if they buried them inside ashes, secondly such foods the outside will be yellowish and the main part of it will remain unripe like banana you will not be able to remove the peel completely, you will remove the peel and part of it will remain sticky on the main banana meaning it has been ripened by calcium carbide.

“If it is mango you will see come black patches and it will look as if they poured hot water on it and that is how to notice that the fruit has been ripened by calcium carbide”, he said.

On his part,  Francis Ononiwu, the director Investigation and Enforcement who was represented by his deputy Dr. Christiana Ezenwa listed the effect of drug hawking in a paper titled “The Menace Of Drug Hawking in Nigeria”.

He stated that street vending of drugs is a menace in Nigeria and the drug hawker erroneously claims to know everything.

He maintained that “The business leads those who patronize them to an early grave as those who sell the drugs are merchants of death.

“Majority of drugs they hawk are prescription drugs which usually requires the advice of a specialist.

“Things being hawked are nothing but poison because when exposed to the elements of the weather the drugs will be reduced to nothing.

“38% of Nigerians are non literates and majorly form the ignorant class of people who patronize drug hawkers”, he said.

Over 100 health journalists from the South South zone of the country and other sister agencies graced the workshop.