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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Health & Science

Nigeria: Advocates Warn Against Fortifying Ultra-Processed Foods, Citing Health Risks

From ThisDay · (5m ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • A coalition of public health advocates is urging the Nigerian government to reconsider fortifying ultra-processed foods.
  • They warn that this strategy could worsen the burden of diet-related diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
  • Experts highlight that fortifying unhealthy foods creates a "health halo" and may undermine nutrition policies and local food systems.

Nigeria's public health advocates are sounding the alarm over the government's push to fortify ultra-processed foods, a move they argue could exacerbate the nation's growing crisis of diet-related illnesses. The Coalition for Healthy Food Advocacy and the National Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Coalition are calling for an urgent review of this strategy, fearing it will inadvertently promote unhealthy eating habits.

We support food fortification. When properly designed, it is a useful tool for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. What is in dispute, however, is how Nigeria is choosing to implement this strategy.

— Oluwafemi AkinbodeAkinbode, Executive Director of CAPPA, clarified the coalition's stance on food fortification while criticizing Nigeria's current implementation.

Leading researchers, like Prof. Dike Ojji from the University of Abuja, point to alarming statistics: cardiovascular diseases account for a significant portion of deaths in Nigeria, with hypertension alone affecting up to 30% of the population, much of it linked to diet. The concern is that Nigeria's already strained healthcare system will be further burdened by the long-term costs of managing these chronic conditions.

Fortifying ultra-processed foods creates what experts call a ‘health halo’. It gives the impression that these products are healthy, even when they are high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. The result is that people are lured into consuming more of them.

— Oluwafemi AkinbodeAkinbode explained the 'health halo' effect associated with fortifying unhealthy foods.

Oluwafemi Akinbode of CAPPA emphasizes that while food fortification can be a valuable tool, its application matters. Fortifying products like seasoning cubes and instant noodles creates a "health halo," misleading consumers into believing these unhealthy items are beneficial. This approach, he argues, not only risks public health but also undermines Nigeria's food sovereignty by favoring multinational corporations over local farmers and traditional food systems. The cure, it seems, might be becoming part of the problem.

Adding vitamins to a poor-quality product does not transform it into a healthy one. If we are not careful, the cure may become part of the problem.

— Oluwafemi AkinbodeAkinbode warned about the potential negative consequences of the current fortification strategy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ThisDay in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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