FG Responsible For Saccharine In Breads, Atiku’s Aide Tells NAFDAC

FG Responsible For Saccharine In Breads, Atiku’s Aide Tells NAFDAC

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has said the federal government should be blamed as bread manufacturers divert to the use of saccharine in place of sugar.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said breads sold in Nigeria have consistently failed lab tests.

Mrs Roseline Ajayi, NAFDAC’s SouthWest Coordinator, on Friday, during stakeholders meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, disclosed that most bread manufacturers do not use sugar for producing bread, but use saccharine.

“Recently, we observed that bread sold in the markets is failing laboratory tests because producers are using saccharine due to the high cost of sugar.

“They are introducing ingredients that are not good for the health of the consumers.

“We are not unmindful of the prevailing economic challenges, but the agency will not compromise its standards.

“It is pertinent to note that the quality and safety of regulated products cannot be compromised,” Mrs Ajayi noted.

In reaction, Phrank Shaibu said the federal government’s negligence and refusal to listen to the call for intervention by bread manufacturers was responsible for the practice.

“When breadmakers voiced their forex woes last November, did the government heed their call? Surely, an esteemed agency such as yours ought to have envisioned the inevitability of manufacturers resorting to copious amounts of preservatives to sustain their enterprises,” Shaibu said on his X handle on Sunday.