How cooking practices, ignorance cause rise in kidney, liver diseases

Isola Moses

As a result of the recent upsurge in reported cases of kidney and liver diseases among the citizenry, the National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control, NAFDAC, in Nigeria, again has blamed the apparent sharp increases in cases of the diseases on illicit cooking practices, poverty and ignorance.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General, NAFDAC, while speaking with journalists Monday, February 3, in Lagos, expressed shock that people still use paracetamol to cook meat and use dye in red oil, reports Vanguard.

Prof. Adeyeye stated that ignorance is killing many Nigerians silently.

According to her, the agency is engaging in a lot of public enlightenment to reduce the menace.

“The use of paracetamol to cook is like digging one’s grave because it contains para amino phenol, which when subjected to heat affects and destroys the kidney.

“The agency is working with the Federal Government to increase its capacity so as to serve the Nigerian people better,” she said.

Amid disease outbreaks in the country, the professor noted, basic hygiene practices should be of utmost important.

Reeling out their plans, she said part of the plans were to engage Corp members to educate the locals because illiteracy level has increased tremendously.

The fight against illicit food and drugs practices needs a collaborative effort from different stakeholders, the NAFDAC boss observed.

“We want to make NAFDAC very strong; we cannot have goals without having internal capacity. We have already started training.

“Our goal is to reach that level that will help NAFDAC to manufacture vaccine,” she disclosed.