A dietician, Fummilayo Abraham-Agbelusi, has warned that adding additives/chemicals to food and fruit to make them bigger or change their appearance and colour can cause damage to body cells.

The Head, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Isolo General Hospital, Mrs Abraham-Agbelusi, gave the warning during an interview on Wednesday in Lagos.

She said that the additives mostly used by people were often without the approval and certification of the relevant regulatory authorities such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

She explained that additives were needed to ensure that processed food remained safe and in good condition throughout its journey from factories or industrial kitchens, during transportation to warehouses and shops and finally to the consumers.

Mrs Abraham-Agbelusi frowned at the rate at which people add additives to foods, saying the act if left unchecked, could lead to life-threatening health conditions.

According to her, the most trending ones are the usage of paracetamol in cooking meat to make it bigger and softer, lamenting that people also add additives to fufu, palm oil, fruits, plantain and banana.

She added that calcium carbide was another chemical often used by sellers to quicken the ripening of vegetables and fruits such as bananas and plantain.

The dietician said there were inherent dangers of the artificial ripening of fruits and vegetables, saying that the chemicals used to ripen fruits artificially were toxic and could also affect the human neurological system.

She said, “According to studies, calcium carbide, which some people use to quicken the ripening of fruits, can affect the neurological system by inducing prolonged hypoxia – a condition of having low oxygen levels in the tissues. In addition, industrial-grade calcium carbide is often found contaminated with traces of arsenic and phosphorus, which are toxic chemicals. However, health benefits of fruits depend largely on how they are ripened; the best course will be to allow them to ripen on the plant itself or harvest/buy them unripe and allow them to naturally ripe without any additive.’’

She said that the side effects of most of the additives far outweighed their benefits; hence, they should be avoided.

“According to the World Health Organisation, food additives are substances that are added to food to maintain the safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance of the food.

“An example of a food additive is sugar, which is used for preservation in marmalade. Unfortunately, people have abused the usage of additives, having designed lots of additives/chemicals they add to food to get the desired size, taste, appearance, texture or colour. Any uncertified additive is a poison. The human body naturally is made up of chemicals, cells and organs; so adding additives to the foods we eat means either doubling or shortening the workloads of the body mechanisms and this can cause serious harmful side effects to human health,” she said.

Mrs Abraham-Agbelusi noted that it was the sole responsibility of NAFDAC to regulate, monitor and certify foods and their additives that would not be harmful to health.

She lamented that NAFDAC had not done enough in that direction and urged the Agency to rise to its responsibilities and save the innocent citizens who ignorantly bought and consumed those products.

The dietician suggested the establishment of another body that could be assisting NAFDAC, particularly in the area of monitoring foods, saying the body could be moving around to monitor and ensure compliance.

On his part, a public health expert, Dr Olugbenga Adeleke, said that not all additives were harmful to human health and warned that moderation and precautions should be observed when using them.

He, however, said that some of the additives could cause digestion disorders such as diarrhoea, colicky pains, and nervous disorders.

Mr Adeleke listed some of the additives to include antioxidants, artificial sweeteners, flavours, flavour enhancers, bulking agents, colour additives, emulsifiers, preservatives, mineral salts, propellants, raising agents and thickeners.

“Some of these substances or additives have been associated with adverse health effects and should be avoided, while others with minimal risks are safe and can be consumed,” he said.

(NAN)