A professor of Food Technology in the Department of Food Science and Human Ecology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Folake Henshaw, has said that over 600 million people across the world suffer from food poisoning annually.
Henshaw who disclosed this at the Food Safety Enlightenment Strategies for Safe and Wholesome Street Foods at the 43 Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) Day celebration held in Lagos also said over 2.4 million case of food poisoning are reported in Nigeria annually.
She advised the federal government to regulate street food vending in the country, which, according to her “has become the major cause of food poisoning in the country and globally.”
She decried the high level under reporting of such incidents especially in the rural areas, hence the need for the various tiers of government to put the machinery in place to regulate the sector.
However, she said food vending cannot be banned completely since it contributes in no small way to poverty alleviation in the country.
She said consumption of street food in the country was on the rise as a result of rapid urbanisation.
She also said it provides ready-to-eat food on the go, adding that since it is less expensive and sold where the people can easily access it, it has become the major part of urban food consumption system for millions of people.
Due to its informal nature which requires little start-up and little or no regulation, Henshaw said street food is the source of nourishment for millions of people especially in the urban areas.
She said over 7.4 million Nigerians are employed and engaged in the sector which provides source of livelihood to many households.
However, she said in view of the hazards associated with street food trading, it has become imperative that the government should set up an agency to regulate the sector.
