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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Health & Science

Osinbajo warns against chemicals on fruit, says wife developed headaches after drinking orange juice

From Vanguard · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Former Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo warned that dangerous chemicals used to ripen or preserve fruit could expose consumers to health risks.
  • He said a laboratory test found freshly squeezed orange juice consumed by his wife, Dolapo, unfit for human consumption after she developed recurring headaches.
  • Osinbajo cited studies in Ekiti, Akwa Ibom and Lagos involving fruit sellers who reportedly admitted using calcium carbide or other chemicals.

Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has warned Nigerians about dangerous chemicals used to ripen and preserve fruit, recounting how a laboratory test found his wife’s freshly squeezed orange juice “not fit for human consumption.”

Speaking at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar in Lagos on August 28, Osinbajo said Dolapo had developed frequent headaches after starting to drink freshly squeezed orange juice every day. The family initially ruled out the juice because they considered it a healthy drink.

Dolly, my dear wife, likes to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day, a very healthy habit, by the way, especially since she stopped consuming any form of carbonated drinks many years ago.

· Yemi OsinbajoHe described his wife’s daily orange-juice habit before recounting her recurring headaches.

“Dolly, my dear wife, likes to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day, a very healthy habit, by the way, especially since she stopped consuming any form of carbonated drinks many years ago,” he said. “But then after a while she started having some strange headaches drinking her fresh juice every day.”

But then after a while she started having some strange headaches drinking her fresh juice every day.

· Yemi OsinbajoHe linked the headaches to the period after his wife began drinking the juice.

Osinbajo said testing later produced an unexpected result: “The results came back. It showed the orange juice, freshly squeezed, was not fit for human consumption.” He attributed the finding to harmful pesticides and chemicals used by some farmers and fruit sellers.

He specifically cited calcium carbide, which he said sellers frequently use to force bananas, mangoes, pawpaws and tomatoes to change colour and appear ripe quickly. Osinbajo referred to studies in different parts of Nigeria, including a 2024 study in Ado-Ekiti in which half of 20 interviewed fruit sellers reportedly admitted using calcium carbide. He also cited a study in Uyo, where 25% of sellers reportedly admitted using the chemical, and a 2023 Lagos survey in which 22 of 50 fruit retailers admitted using chemicals to preserve produce.

The results came back. It showed the orange juice, freshly squeezed, was not fit for human consumption.

· Yemi OsinbajoHe described the laboratory finding that prompted his warning.

His warning comes as Nigerians increasingly use social media to flag suspected counterfeit and substandard food, drugs, cosmetics and other consumer products, putting additional pressure on regulators NAFDAC and SON.

Calcium carbide is used very frequently to force fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaws and tomatoes to change colour and look ripe very quickly.

· Yemi OsinbajoHe identified a chemical he said some sellers use to accelerate ripening.
About this summary

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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