The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says noodles produced in the country did not contain ethylene oxide or its metabolism.

NAFDAC director-general Mojisola Adeyeye disclosed this at a media briefing organised to present the outcome of its investigation on whether noodles produced in the country contained ethylene oxide.

Ms Adeyeye said the investigation was occasioned by the recall of Indomie Instant Noodles Special Chicken Flavour by Malaysia and Taiwan because of the alleged presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer.

“At the time of my initial press release on the issue, I assured the public that a thorough investigation of the products would be conducted both at the factory and market levels and that our findings would be communicated,” stated the NAFDAC chief.

Ms Adeyeye added, “As soon as we received the news of the product recalls in Malaysia and Taiwan, I immediately requested the director of food safety and applied nutrition to carry out an investigation and random sampling of Indomie instant noodles from the production facilities and extend the investigation to other brands of instant noodles offered for sale to Nigerians.”

The NAFDAC director-general explained that “imported noodles are not expected to be sold in Nigeria because NAFDAC does not register imported noodles as a result of the ban by the Nigerian government many years ago to foster local production.”

She also mentioned that samples of chicken-flavoured instant noodles of various brands and seasonings were drawn from production facilities across the country to ensure robust investigation.

“A total of one hundred and fourteen (114) samples of instant noodles and the seasonings were received, while samples were also collected from Lagos, Abuja and Kano,” stated Ms Adeyeye.

According to her, NAFDAC findings show that ethylene oxide or its derivative was not found in any of the instant noodles produced in Nigeria and their seasonings.

“The compound of interest, ethylene oxide, is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilise medical devices and has been implicated as a cancer-causing chemical. We did not only analyse for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-chloroethane in the noodles and seasonings, but we also analysed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples,” the NAFDAC chief explained.

(NAN)