200,000 Nigerians die yearly from food related illnesses — Minister

Friday, May 9, 2025 - Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Geoffrey Nnaji, has said 200,000 Nigerians lose their lives to foodborne illnesses every year. 

He warned that the Federal Government will now bring down the full force of the law against those who engage in the illegal and unethical activities of food contamination and adulteration.

Nnaji stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics indicated that tainted foodborne illness in over 600 million people worldwide each year, resulting in 200,000 fatalities, mostly in Nigeria, and 420,000 deaths throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The minister, who spoke at the official launch of the Food Safety Operational Manual and Training of Food Safety Desk Officers in Abuja, said his ministry and agencies, especially the Nigeria Council of Food Science and Technology (NiCoFST), are currently strengthening their regulatory oversight across the nation where food safety supervision is weakest. 

Nnaji, represented by the Director General of the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, Professor Samson Duna, stated that food safety is more than a health concern but a national security priority, development imperative and catalyst for inclusive growth in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to him, food safety is a science-driven enterprise and directed its agencies and research institutions in the ministry to develop cost-effective technologies for food preservation and quality assurance, promote indigenous innovations that respect Nigeria’s culinary diversity and deploy mobile and digital training tools for informal food vendors in both rural and urban areas. 

He said, “These are the very spaces where Nigerians across all income levels turn to for their daily meals—and where risk is often greatest. From the unethical use of paracetamol to tenderize meat, to cassava fermentation with detergents, and adulteration of red oil and pepper with industrial dyes like Sudan IV, we are witnessing a quiet war against public health. 

“These are not cultural missteps—they are criminal acts. And as explicitly provided under Sections 243 and 244 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act, the sale or distribution of toxic or harmful food is a punishable offence.” 

He added that the consequences of such practices are devastating such as increased incidences of kidney failure, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and other debilitating non communicable diseases. 

According to the minister, in the first quarter of 2025 alone, cholera claimed 378 lives, while Lassa fever infected over 3,500 Nigerians, with many cases linked to food contamination from rodents and poor hygiene. 

“This must stop. And this manual is a significant step toward ensuring it does, ” he added . 

The Coordinating Minister of health and social welfare , Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said recent studies by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) revealed that approximately 20% of hospital admissions in urban areas can be attributed to foodborne diseases.