NAFDAC denies warning against eating ‘Agege Bread’

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has denied issuing warning against the consumption of locally baked bread due to the use of saccharin in its production.
NAFDAC director-general Prof. Christianah Adeyeye, said in a statement Tuesday that the agency has been misrepresented.
 “The attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been drawn to a video circulating on social media titled “Bread sold in markets failing laboratory tests, NAFDAC raises fresh alarm.
“The report stated that NAFDAC had raised a concern that “most of the breads in the market are failing laboratory tests due to the fact that producers are using saccharine to bake bread more than they are using sugar due to the high cost of sugar.
“As a responsive regulatory Agency, NAFDAC wishes to provide clarification that the content of the video on avoiding bread in Nigeria does not reflect the observation of NAFDAC, which was made during a stakeholders’ engagement held on 16th August 2024 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“At no time during that engagement with stakeholders did NAFDAC suggest that Nigerians should avoid bread baked and sold in Nigeria.
“The Agency is a responsible regulator and does not make general statements capable of causing panic and fear in the population. Any baker found to be using unapproved food additives, in this case, saccharine, is appropriately sanctioned in line with the extant regulatory provisions.
“The Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) does not permit the use of saccharine in bread. This is the same for the Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), an authoritative reference point for food additives, which also does not permit the use of saccharine in bread.”