Abuja: Dr Olapeju Phorbee, a leading food systems consultant, has urged Nigerians to prioritise safe, healthy, and diverse diets while warning against the dangers of consuming expired or unsafe food products. She issued the warning during a two-day workshop on Nutrition and Food Systems Reporting and Advocacy, organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Nigeria Health Watch, in Abuja. The workshop, themed 'Strengthening Capacity of Media Professionals for Nutrition and Food Systems Reporting and Advocacy,' aimed to equip journalists with essential skills to report on nutrition and related food policy issues.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Phorbee, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Food Agricultural Nutrition Network (FANN), emphasised the importance of viewing food as the first form of medicine for maintaining good health. She stated, "Food is medicine. If they don't take food as medicine, medicine will be their food." Phorbee highlighted the importance of safe, healthy, and diverse nutrition as a top priority in every Nigerian household.
She warned that consuming expired or unsafe food, even during harsh economic times, could lead to severe health complications, stressing that hunger should not justify putting lives at risk. "People are hungry. They take whatever is given to them. These vulnerable individuals often have no choice. That's why we must protect them from unsafe food," she said. Phorbee stressed the potential harm of eating unsafe food, urging Nigerians to prioritise safety over desperation in food consumption decisions.
Furthermore, she called for stricter oversight and accountability in the distribution of food palliatives, especially those supplied by government agencies or donor organisations to vulnerable populations. According to her, circulating expired or unsafe food is a breach of public trust and a silent but dangerous threat to the nation's overall health security. She urged those responsible for distributing food aid to stop sharing expired products, emphasising that the poor often lacked the power to choose and were therefore at greater risk.
Phorbee insisted that all social intervention programmes must strictly comply with Nigeria's Food Safety and Quality Standards to ensure safety and nutritional value for recipients. She warned that unsafe food distribution not only undermines humanitarian efforts but also worsens malnutrition and increases the risk of disease outbreaks in low-income communities. "If palliatives must be shared, they must be safe and nutritious. We cannot continue to justify endangering lives simply because people are hungry," she warned.
Highlighting Nigeria's rich food diversity, Phorbee noted that the country had more than enough resources to support healthy living if existing food systems were properly harnessed and managed. "We have enough to live healthy lives if only we realised it. Safe, healthy, diverse food must be a national priority. Again, food is medicine," she said.
She concluded by urging journalists to strengthen public education on food and nutrition, noting that the media played a vital role in shaping national attitudes and public awareness on health-related issues.