The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has launched an investigation into reports of recalled noodles by Taiwan and Malaysia authorities due to the presence of a cancer-causing agent called ethylene oxide in the product.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, has reaffirmed the ban on the importation of Indomie noodles and stated that the Director of the Food Lab Services Directorate has already started working on the analysis methodology.
On May 2, the agency’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate will randomly sample Indomie noodles and seasoning from production facilities, while the Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate will sample from the markets.
Prof Adeyeye explained that Indomie noodles have been banned from importation into Nigeria for many years and are not allowed to be registered by NAFDAC. The current investigation is an extra measure to ensure that the product is not smuggled in, and if detected, post-marketing surveillance will be used.
She also emphasized the importance of testing the spices used for Indomie and other noodles in Nigeria. NAFDAC’s Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) will conduct the investigation this week at the production facilities and in the market, respectively.
The NAFDAC DG promised to keep Nigerians updated on the outcome of the investigation.
