The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has stepped forward to say that the Nigerian variant of the Indomie brand is very safe to eat.
The DG said this in an interview with OAP Morayo Afolabi-Brown on the popular TVC breakfast programme, “Your View.”
Excerpts:
On-Air-Personality: I’m sure you guys have heard about the Indomie brouhaha. Well, I have the low-down and correct info for you. It’s much ado about nothing.
The first thing I have to tell you guys is: do not swallow everything you come across online. Check and cross check everything before you share. You may be spreading fake news or causing misinformation without knowing it.
Right, so here is the gist. Some variant of Indomie noodles produced in Malaysia and Taiwan was found to contain a substance called ethylene oxide which is believed to be carcinogenic. Consequently, the Malaysian Ministry of Health has mandated that the variant of noodle in question be held and tested for safety before being released for consumption by Malaysian or Taiwanese consumers. This happened in far away Malaysia and Taiwan.
Now, NAFDAC, reading this news decided to be proactive and check to ensure no Indomie produced in Nigeria contains this ethylene oxide. NAFDAC has not found anything wrong with our Nigerian Indomie. NAFDAC is being proactive as it should.
Now here are 3 things we should consider.
First, the Indomie in question is not the Nigerian Indomie. It is Indomie produced in Malaysia and Taiwan and only for Malaysian and Taiwanese market. That Indomie is not in Nigeria. The particular Indomie found to contain the ethylene oxide is called Special Chicken Flavour. There is no Indomie in Nigeria called Special Chicken flavour. So, Nigeria Indomie is safe.
Second, that Malaysian and Taiwan Indomie cannot get into Nigeria. That is because the Federal Government has banned the importation of instant noodles not Indomie into Nigeria for over 15 years. So, any noodles you see in Nigeria is made in Nigeria. The reason the government banned noodles importation into Nigeria is not because of any health hazard. It is because the government wanted to create jobs for Nigerians and protect the local economy. That is the reason why instant noodles importation is banned in Nigeria.
Third, the company that produces Indomie in Nigeria is called Dufil Prima Foods. From what we have heard about the company it is a company that takes health quality seriously. It has never failed a NAFDAC or SON test as far as we know. The Nigerian Indomie is consumed by millions of people and have never been known to cause any health hazard. The standards of Indomie production in Nigeria is extremely high.
So, guys, that’s the fact of the matter. It is not the Nigeria Indomie that was found to contain the substance O. Until NAFDAC says otherwise, our Naija Indomie is super safe. No cause for alarm.
