The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has concluded investigation into traces of mytheylene Oxide or its metabolite presence in the domestic produced noodles and its seasonings are very safe for human consumption. The investigation was as a result of news that Indomie Instant Noodles ‘Special Chicken Flavor’ were recalled by the Ministries of Health in Malaysia and Taiwan on account of the alleged presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer. NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Christainah Adeyeye made this known during a briefing of newsmen in Lagos today. According to her, in all her investigation, ethylene oxide or its derivative were not found in all the instant noodles and its seasonings being produced in Nigeria as alleges by others and therefore, all Nigerian made noodles are safe for human consumption.
In her statement, it partly reads, “The level of Mycotoxin and the heavy metals were within the internationally acceptable limit. Therefore, the noodles made in Nigeria are very safe to eat.”
“Samples of chicken flavored instant noodles of various brands and the seasonings were drawn from the production facilities across the country.
She explained, “This was to ensure that the investigation was robust, covering other instant noodles brands manufactured in Nigeria, besides Indomie, the implicated brand.
“The Post Marketing Surveillance Division also visited markets/retail outlets in the major cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Kano and drew samples of instant noodles for laboratory analysis.
She added, “The market visits served as surveillance for the presence of the Taiwan and Malaysian special chicken noodles in the Nigerian market.
“The samples drawn from production facilities and trade were properly packaged and delivered in good condition to our Central Laboratory, Oshodi, Lagos, where analytical activities commenced immediately in accordance with international standards and methods of analysis.”
Explaining further, Adeyeye noted her her office deployed the Gas Chromotography technique with a mass spectrometry detectors during the analysis as the agency took a total of 114 sample of instant noodles and its seasonings were picked at random.
Consequently, the compound of interest, a colorless and odorless gas, ethylene oxide that are mostly used in sterilizing medical equipment ended up being implicated as a cancer-causing chemical.
She disclosed, “We did not only analyze for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-Chloroethanol in the noodles and seasonings; we also analyzed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples.”
