The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned the general public to be careful of the consumption of animal hides popularly known as Ponmo.
This was disclosed by a statement signed by the Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye and made available on the agencies website.
The statement reportedly said that most of these animal hides are meant for industrial use. Some of these animal hides were pre-treated with industrial chemicals, which were not of food grade and were toxic and injurious to human health.
Investigations have revealed that some companies legally imported hides from countries like Lebanon and Turkey, while majority of the product were smuggled into the country through the porous borders, Adeyeye reportedly said.
The statement revealed that “health hazards inherent in the consumption of such animal hides include risk of liver, kidney and heart damage, increased risk of Aplastic anaemia, central nervous system toxicity, cancer and many more”.
Adeyeye reportedly said that live stock farmers were also advised to note that industrial animal hides could not be used to manufacture animal feed because the associated chemicals will be stored in the tissues of these animals and will eventually end up in humans when consumed with the attendant effects.
Adeyeye reportedly said that “the agency has increased the tempo of targeted and aggressive routine and unannounced inspections to monitor activities of animal hide merchants to ensure that only food grade animal hide is sold as food article in the markets”.
NAFDAC is asking the general public to be vigilant and exercise discretion when purchasing animal hides and indeed other food items.
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