From fruit stalls to abattoirs, a deadly trend has invaded Nigerian kitchens. A Senate investigation has uncovered shocking food adulteration practices across the country — from fruits ripened with calcium carbide and meat softened with paracetamol to grains laced with Sniper insecticide and cassava soaked in bleach.
Declaring the situation a “public health emergency”, the Senate on Wednesday vowed to strengthen existing laws and impose tougher penalties on anyone using toxic chemicals in food production or processing.
The resolution followed the adoption of a damning report by the Joint Senate Committees on Health and Agriculture, which revealed widespread and dangerous chemical use in Nigeria’s food supply chain.
“What Nigerians are eating daily is slow poison,” one lawmaker warned. “This is no longer about consumer rights — it’s about survival.”
The Senate’s findings were chilling: fruit sellers use calcium carbide — an industrial welding chemical — to force ripening, releasing poisonous gases. Butchers boil beef with paracetamol to soften it. Grain traders preserve their stock with Sniper, while cassava processors bleach their tubers with detergent. Even palm oil and pepper are dyed with Sudan IV, a banned cancer-causing colouring agent.
At abattoirs, tyres are burnt to remove animal fur, coating meat with toxic residue. Some imported fruits are coated with Morpholine, a waxing chemical banned in the EU for its link to liver and kidney damage.
The report linked these practices to rising cases of cancer, kidney failure, and foodborne diseases such as cholera and Lassa fever. In 2025 alone, Nigeria recorded over 14,000 cholera cases and 119 food-related Lassa fever deaths. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that over one million Nigerians suffer foodborne illnesses annually, costing more than $3.6 billion in health and productivity losses.
“These are families — children and mothers — dying because we are eating poisoned food,” a senator lamented.
To combat the menace, the Senate resolved to amend Sections 243 to 245 of the Criminal Code to enforce stricter sanctions against offenders. It also directed the Ministries of Agriculture and Health, alongside agencies like NAQS, FCCPC, and NiCFOST, to begin nationwide enforcement and public sensitisation.
“This is a national health emergency,” the Senate declared. “We must protect what Nigerians eat — from farm to table.”
Lawmakers admitted that legislation alone won’t suffice. They called for continuous education in communities, schools, and marketplaces to curb the spread of toxic food practices.
As one senator grimly summed it up: “Food is life — but in Nigeria today, food has become death served fresh.”
