Dangers Of Food And Water In Plastics

By Kayode Ojewale
Many Nigerians did not understand where the Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh was coming from when sometime ago he warned his compatriots against the use of cellophane in their food regime. He was speaking from a scientifically informed position we should align with for the good health of society.

The minister raised an alarm that Nigerians who are eating beans pudding (‘moinmoin’) cooked in cellophane (nylon) bags risk serious health challenge as the product is poisonous. According to him, cellophane bags contain large doses of dioxin that are harmful to health. Let me also add that liquid milk tin is also dangerous for packaging ‘moinmoin’ when cooking as leaching of chemical from the milk tin into the content will still occur. The healthy alternative for packaging or wrapping ‘moinmoin’ when steaming is the use of local green leaves which do not contain poisonous substances. These leaves rather add flavor, antioxidants and aroma to the ‘moinmoin’.