CAPPA calls for better food safety rules

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged the Federal Government to review Nigeria’s food fortification strategies to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure that public health takes precedence over corporate interests.

CAPPA also called on the government to implement policies and programmes that would expand Nigerians’ access to safe, nutritious and wholesome foods, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Industry Monitoring Officer, CAPPA, Humphrey Ukeaja, made the call in a statement titled, “Ultra-processed Foods Fortification: Public Health Solution or Health Risk?”

Ukeaja said the growing promotion of fortified ultra-processed foods, including bouillon cubes, noodles, sugary beverages and pre-packaged snacks, as a solution to Nigeria’s hidden hunger crisis could undermine efforts to address the country’s broader nutrition and public health challenges.

Fortification involves adding essential vitamins and minerals to foods during production to prevent nutrient deficiencies and related health problems. However, he noted that there were growing efforts to extend the practice to industrially produced ultra-processed foods, which are often high in sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats and contain several chemical additives.

According to him, proponents of the approach argue that such products can serve as vehicles for delivering micronutrients, including vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid, vitamin B12 and iodine.

He, however, warned that the approach could leave consumers confused about whether to avoid such products because of their unhealthy ingredients or consume them because they have been fortified with beneficial nutrients.

Ukeaja said that in Nigeria, fortified ultra-processed products were increasingly being presented as solutions to malnutrition, rather than addressing the food environment that encourages excessive consumption of unhealthy foods.

He noted that although hidden hunger remained a significant challenge, Nigeria had for decades implemented micronutrient supplementation programmes targeting women and children at health facilities and household levels, alongside food fortification and agriculture-sensitive nutrition interventions.

He attributed the persistence of poor nutrition outcomes largely to inadequate household access to diverse and nutrient-rich foods, driven by inflation and food insecurity.

Ukeaja also raised concerns over the rising burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which he said was receiving insufficient attention from the government.

According to him, the unhealthy food environment, coupled with aggressive marketing of ultra-processed foods and loopholes in food environment policies, was contributing to increased consumption of such products.

“These NCDs account for 29 per cent of deaths in Nigeria and are projected to overtake infectious diseases, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases as the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030,” he said.

He argued that governments should instead prioritise policies that make healthy and nutritious foods more available and affordable, including agricultural reforms and interventions that improve access to fruits, vegetables, animal-source proteins, legumes, fibre and other nutrient-rich foods.

Ukeaja further accused food companies and their allies of promoting what he described as “nutri-washing” by positioning fortified ultra-processed products as affordable solutions to malnutrition while downplaying their potential contribution to diet-related diseases.

He said such industry-led approaches could weaken mandatory public health regulations by influencing national nutrition standards and diverting attention from structural measures such as strengthening local agriculture and improving access to fresh and minimally processed foods.

Ukeaja stressed that corporate involvement in developing national food fortification policies and guidelines could prioritise private profit over public interest if appropriate safeguards were not put in place.

He therefore urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to guard against conflicts of interest and ensure that nutrition policies prioritise the health of Nigerians, particularly children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

He also cautioned that large-scale fortification of bouillon cubes could encourage increased consumption of processed seasonings and undermine ongoing efforts to reduce sodium intake.

“The Nigerian Government must also review its food fortification strategies to eliminate conflicts of interest that place corporate profits over public health interests.

“The government must implement policies and programmes that expand access to safe, nutritious and wholesome foods,” he said.

Ukeaja advocated greater support for home gardening to increase household consumption of locally grown herbs, fruits and vegetables rich in micronutrients.

He also urged the government to focus agricultural fortification efforts on whole staples, citing iron-fortified cassava, zinc-fortified maize and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as examples of approaches that could improve micronutrient intake without adding sodium or increasing cardiovascular health risks.

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