{"id":5102,"date":"2026-10-11T00:13:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5102"},"modified":"2026-10-11T00:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T00:13:41","slug":"food-safety-nafdac-moves-against-toxic-pesticides-in-foods-seizes-n800m-illegal-chemical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5102","title":{"rendered":"Food Safety: NAFDAC moves against toxic pesticides in foods, seizes N800m illegal chemical"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, discloses a recent market study detected residues of pyrethroids and dimethoate above permitted safety limits in some beans samples in Nigerian markets<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n

In safeguarding the health of Nigerian consumers, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) again, has warned against the continued circulation, and misuse of prohibited pesticides posing serious threats to public health in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports NAFDAC raised fresh concerns about the recent detection of pesticide residues above permitted safety limits in some samples of beans in the country’s markets.<\/p>\n

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, raised the alarm at a media briefing on pesticide use in agricultural produce, in Lagos.<\/p>\n

Adeyeye disclosed he health sector regulatory agency confiscated banned agrochemicals worth over \u20a6800 million in Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Director-General of NAFDAC also said a separate operation in Kebbi State led to the interception of 67,428 litres of paraquat, a prohibited pesticide, alongside banned atrazine products.<\/p>\n

She equally revealed that a recent market study detected residues of pyrethroids and dimethoate above permitted safety limits in some bean samples.<\/p>\n

The move, she said, underscored concerns about the use of agricultural chemicals to preserve harvested produce.<\/p>\n

The NAFDAC Chief Executive said the agency was intensifying surveillance, enforcement and public education to rid the Nigerian market of banned, unregistered, falsified, and improperly used pesticides.<\/p>\n

Adeyeye further averred: \u201cNAFDAC is not against the responsible use of pesticides.<\/p>\n

“Rather, the agency seeks to ensure that pesticides sold or used in Nigeria are safe, approved and compliant with regulatory requirements.”<\/p>\n

Negative effects of improper use\/application of pesticides <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Director-General as well warned stakeholders that though pesticides are important for crop protection and agricultural production, improper application, excessive use, and failure to observe prescribed waiting periods before harvesting could expose farmers, ultimate consumers, and the environment to harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cImproper pesticide use can cause serious health problems, including death.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome effects may not appear immediately but can develop gradually over time.”<\/p>\n

Adeyeye also told reporters that the agency\u2019s concern extended beyond the illegal importation and sale of prohibited chemicals to the misuse of approved pesticides, which could leave dangerous residues on food consumed by Nigerians.<\/p>\n

According to her, the recent market study on beans revealed residues of pyrethroids and dimethoate exceeding applicable safety limits in some samples.<\/p>\n

She explained that dimethoate was not approved for preserving harvested beans against pests, such as weevils, stressing that chemicals approved for use on crops in the field could not automatically be used for post-harvest preservation.<\/p>\n

While certain pyrethroids were permitted for post-harvest storage under approved conditions, Adeyeye said users must observe the prescribed withholding period before the produce was consumed.<\/p>\n

Common pesticide misuse practices, by Prof. Adeyeye <\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Adeyeye identified common pesticide misuse practices as applying chemicals in quantities above recommended levels, using products on crops or against pests for which they were not approved, harvesting before the required pre-harvest interval and mixing products improperly.<\/p>\n

She equally mentioned other dangerous practices as storing pesticides alongside food, animal feed or household items, reusing empty pesticide containers for domestic purposes and improperly disposing of chemical residues and containers.<\/p>\n

Food safety begins from farm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Underscoring that food safety does not begin in the marketplace, Adeyeye said: \u201cFood safety begins on the farm.”<\/p>\n

She, therefore, urged farmers to purchase approved products, follow label instructions, apply recommended quantities and observe all safety precautions.<\/p>\n

Protecting Nigerian consumers from harmful pesticide residues requires responsible practices across the agricultural value chain, from manufacturers and importers to distributors, agro-input dealers and farmers, she noted.<\/p>\n

Some NAFDAC recent pesticide seizures <\/strong><\/p>\n

Giving details of the agency\u2019s enforcement operations, Prof. Adeyeye disclosed NAFDAC seized banned agrochemicals worth more than N800 million in Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states in 2025.<\/p>\n

She noted that between September 2024 and July 2026, enforcement operations in the North-West Zone resulted in the seizure, interception or recovery of 2,974 cartons of pesticides containing paraquat, with an estimated value of N148.7 million.<\/p>\n

She also revealed that another 120 cartons of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, valued at more than N17 million, were intercepted during the same period.<\/p>\n

Besides, in a separate operation in Kebbi State, the agency intercepted 5,619 cartons containing 67,428 litres of paraquat and 500 cartons of atrazine products.<\/p>\n

NAFDAC also sealed four unauthorised pesticide and agrochemical manufacturing facilities in Bichi, Kano State, in July 2026, where officers reportedly discovered unlabelled products, bulk chemicals and packaging materials linked to illicit production.<\/p>\n

Adeyeye as well disclosed that suspects had been arrested in connection with enforcement operations, with a case undergoing prosecution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, discloses a recent market study detected residues of pyrethroids and dimethoate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, and Some Directors of the Agency During the Media Briefing in Lagos","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-markets","category-regulators"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44.jpg",603,357,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44-300x178.jpg",300,178,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44.jpg",603,357,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44.jpg",603,357,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44.jpg",603,357,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-44.jpg",603,357,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"Highlights<\/a> Markets<\/a> Regulators<\/a>","tag_info":"Regulators","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5110,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5102\/revisions\/5110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}