The Nigerian Institute of Food Science & Technology has raised concern over the use of sniper as a weevil repellant or killer in beans, warning that consuming food preserved with sniper or other harmful chemicals could cause organ failure, cancer or even death.
National President of NIFST, Mr Oluwole Toye, in a statement, said the use of sniper in food storage raises very serious food safety concerns
Toye, who was reacting to a video that had gone viral where some people were seen using sniper to preserve beans, warned that it is dangerous to use harmful pesticides for food
preservation.
He said NIFST was concerned about this potential harmful use of sniper and other unfair trade practices being carried out by some stakeholders across the food supply chain that can endanger the health of the consumers and the public in general as a major player in the food value-chain.
“Sniper belongs to the organophosphate family of pesticides containing DDVP (2.2 -dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) as active ingredient. It is highly toxic and used mainly as fumigants for outdoor purposes.
“Its residues endanger the health of consumers and contribute to loss of consumer confidence in the food supply chain, thus impacting negatively on food trade. DDVP has both short and long-term health
consequences.
“Short-term exposure to DDVP associated with consumption of foods preserved with Sniper may come with symptoms such as: weaknesses, headaches, blurred vision, nausea, abdominal cramps etc, with varying consequences ranging from minor discomforts to hospitalisation”, he
said.
According to the President, there may also be chronic consequences arising from long-term exposure to sniper causing organ failure, cancer or even death.
Toye noted: “Economically, the use of sniper for food preservation is a practice that is unacceptable to both local and international regulations and standards, contributing significantly to the poor consumer confidence and competitiveness of Nigerian agricultural produce at International markets.
“You will recall that beans from Nigeria have remained banned from entry to European markets for the past three years, while other crops such as vegetables, oilseeds and related food products are regularly denied entry into the international markets due to excessive DDVP
residues.
“This is a huge economic loss to Nigeria, its farmers, exporters and related entrepreneurs.”
To check the menace, Toye said government at all levels through their regulatory agencies should be more pro-active in developing and implementing strategies that would arrest the use of snipers and other related poor practices in food preservation.
He urged the Federal Government in particular to urgently implement a tighter control on unrestricted chemicals in circulation in Nigeria.
He added that NIFST has directed its chapters across the country to engage the various government agencies and other critical stakeholders in sustained campaign activities to sensitise the public on the dangers in the use of harmful pesticides for food preservation.
