The Federal Government has pushed for a bill to address food contamination and unwholesome food consumption practices, through the National Food and Safety and Quality Bill.
Speaking at an inter-ministerial committee meeting on food safety in Abuja, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, noted that one in every 10 persons fall ill owing to food-borne diseases.
He, however, explained that food contamination can be prevented by maintaining proper sanitation and hygiene in food processing.
Dr. Ehanire added that such measures would reduce the rate of illnesses, saying “what you spend on preventing health is much less than what you spend on treating”.
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbeh, said preventing illness through food consumption is the most important step in supporting Nigeria’s health programme.
He also emphasised the need for council chairmen to enforce safety rules on food consumption at the grassroots.
“If you can avoid people falling sick through the food we eat and how we manage the food, that will be the first and most important step in supporting the health programme of the country.
“When the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture get together on this kind of subject, it is because we realise that working together will help us solve a lot of problems.
“A time will come when we will have to call local government chairmen in their zones and states and begin to educate them because they have responsibilities,” he said.