Genetically Modified Foods, Business, And Health Effects

 By Timi Olubiyi

The common social concerns are the country’s high mortality rate, poverty, and malnutrition. But for health concerns, the advice is usually to reduce fats, cholesterols, and sugar intake, improve nutrition and a good diet, do not smoke and so on to avoid health issues. However, the fact is food is about health and healthy living, but less is heard about the need to promote organic food eating in a world where innovation is now widespread in Agric-Business and farming, with the genetically engineering of crops and foods.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are foods that are produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. Genetic modification, also known as genetic engineering, it simply means having the DNA of crops and foodstuffs altered using genes from other plants or animals to achieve specific aims.

Checking The Menace Of Expired Drugs

By Kayode Ojewale

Lately, Nigeria has witnessed increased cases of some heartless human beings with dead conscience relabelling and revalidating dates of expired foods and drugs. The arrests of the perpetrators and confiscations of relabelled expired drugs were carried out by the officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). 

The news media has thus been awash with stories of seized expired foods and drugs. It was recently reported that N15 million worth of fake expired products was confiscated in Nasarawa State. Just last month, NCS and NAFDAC destroyed N100 million worth of expired medicaments and other items at Seme command of NSC. Some N80 million worth of expired goods were destroyed also in Abuja last month by NAFDAC. It was revealed that some of the products were voluntarily submitted by companies and individuals while others were seized through enforcement.

Nigerians And Killer Soft Drinks!

By Owei Lakemfa
I bought two products of the Coca Cola conglomerate three days ago. They are bottles of  Fanta and Sprite. I looked for a warning on them which should read that the drinks are poisonous when taken with Vitamin C. This would be in accordance with the March 2017 judgment of the Lagos High Court which found the products unfit for human consumption as they contain high  levels of sunset yellow and benzoic acid which according to European and American drug agencies, can form the carcinogen benzene when combined with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). The court had ordered Coca Cola to comply not later than June 2017.

But I did not see such warning. I did not expect to see the warning because as expected,  Coca Cola would be hiding behind technicalities and  a claim that it is appealing the judgment. However, if  it were interested in the health of Nigerians and not just profits, the company  by now, would  have saturated  us with adverts warning of the dangers of taking their products as ordered by the court. In a matter affecting lives such as this, the company should comply with the judgment even if it seeks a reversal in the higher court. This is basically because while it can recoup losses, it cannot bring back lives that might be lost as a result of its non-compliance.