President of the Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Dr Bola Osinowo, has called for urgent government support for regulatory agencies, warning that the country’s food safety system is dangerously understaffed and poses a threat to public health and tourism growth.

Osinowo made the call on Tuesday, in Lagos, at a breakfast meeting with members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET), organised to discuss food safety, regulation, Nigerian food as a tourism product, and NIFST’s 50th anniversary celebration scheduled for October 12 to 15.

He said NAFDAC’s director-general informed him that the agency needs a minimum of 20,000 workers to effectively cover the country, but currently has about 2,000, representing a 90 percent manpower deficit.

According to him, while awareness remains critical, it must be backed by enforcement when unsafe practices persist.

“When you educate, you also need to enforce,” Osinowo said. “Initially, we can show love, but if that is not working, we need to arrest and put action behind it.”

He urged the Federal Government, NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies to strengthen awareness and enforcement, and called for greater involvement of local government food inspectors at the grassroots.

Osinowo said NIFST’s Food Safety Committee has been educating market women on basic hygiene, food preservation and dangers of harmful chemicals used in food processing and storage.

NIFST on food safety

NIFST Public Relations Officer, Olutaller Akinwole, said many food sellers were unaware of implications of unsafe practices, stressing that awareness remains fundamental.

“Awareness is a very critical thing,” he said, adding that NIFST Academy is open to collaboration with local governments, agencies and associations to train food handlers and improve compliance with safe practices.

National Secretary, Rasaq Oke, also called for collaboration with NAFDAC and relevant agencies, noting that food safety is everybody’s responsibility and requires collective action among stakeholders.

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the 50th anniversary, Taiwo Ubani, emphasised that many people involved in unsafe practices do not know their dangers, hence the need for sustained public enlightenment.

Former Chairman, NIFST Lagos Chapter, Sunday Bamgbose, linked food safety directly to Nigeria’s tourism ambitions and promotion of local cuisine. He said Nigeria has diverse foods with potential for international showcase, but food safety remains key to visitors’ experience.

“I can see the potential of tourism in Nigeria if we put our act together,” Bamgbose said.

He recalled that Lagos Chapter had worked with street food vendors, educating them and providing personal protective equipment, adding that such partnerships could be expanded despite limited resources.

“If we do this, I believe we start talking of, just as we talk of Chinese food, we start talking of Nigerian food in a very short time,” he said.

Earlier, Osinowo said NIFST, established in 1976, now has more than 15,000 members worldwide and 11 active chapters in Nigeria, bringing together professionals from academia, industry, government, research, regulatory agencies and hospitality.

He said the 50th anniversary conference and annual general meeting holding in Lagos provides opportunity to highlight institute’s role in food science, technology, food safety and capacity building. (Nigerian Tribune)