Govt warns Lagosians against consuming imported chickens

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The Lagos State Government has warned residents against the consumption of exhumed and contaminated poultry produce that are in circulation in the state as they pose a serious health risk.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, said some imported contaminated products were seized by the Nigeria Customs Service in Badagry but were later exhumed by some people who planned to sell them to unsuspecting members of the public.

Suarau disclosed this on Saturday while receiving officials of the National Orientation Agency who came on the directive of the Federal Government to sensitise Lagosians to the dangers of consuming the contaminated food.

The commissioner said the imported poultry produce was preserved with chemicals like formalin which was poisonous, adding that it could lead to slow death.

Suarau said the poisonous products were not as nutritious as freshly processed poultry meat because imported poultry meat had been preserved for months and years with dangerous chemicals.

The commissioner, while reiterating the state government’s commitment towards ensuring food security for residents of Lagos, vowed that the state government would not relent in its quest to improve the quality of life of citizens.

Suarau, however, disclosed that the state government would work in collaboration with the Federal Government to ensure that the sensitisation exercise was successful.

In the same vein, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Food Security, Mr. Okanlawon Sanni, said the grass roots would be involved in the advocacy and sensitisation campaign on the dangers of consuming these contaminated imported poultry produce.

Speaking earlier, the Deputy Director, NOA, Mr. John Emah, said that the agency in collaboration with the Lagos State Government was set to be begin the sensitisation programme to draw the attention of the public to the dangers inherent in buying and consuming these poultry produce.

Source: Punch