National News – The Federal Government has raised concerns over the growing burden of foodborne diseases in Nigeria, revealing that unsafe food is responsible for more than 53,000 deaths and nearly 50 million illnesses across the country every year.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, disclosed this in Abuja during a ministerial briefing to mark the 2026 World Food Safety Day, themed “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere.”
Salako described food safety as a major public health and national development issue, noting that Nigeria loses an estimated 4.26 million years of healthy life annually due to illnesses, disabilities and premature deaths linked to contaminated food.
According to the minister, children under the age of five account for more than 80 per cent of the country’s foodborne disease burden, with the consequences extending beyond sickness and death to the loss of cognitive and physical development.
He said diarrhoeal diseases remain the leading cause of foodborne illnesses in Nigeria, with over 40 million cases associated with pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Shigella and rotavirus.
Salako also warned about the increasing threat posed by chemical contaminants, including lead exposure from polluted grains, spices and water sources, stressing the need to strengthen food safety systems throughout the food value chain.
Despite the challenges, he said Nigeria had made progress in improving food safety management, citing gains recorded in the 2023 Joint External Evaluation and the country’s 2025 State Party Annual Report, which surpassed the World Health Organisation benchmark for low- and middle-income countries.
He noted that Nigeria now has stronger systems for detecting, reporting and responding to foodborne disease outbreaks but called for intensified surveillance of chemical hazards, improved hygiene and sanitation infrastructure, and stricter compliance with food safety standards.
The minister also linked food safety to the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and stroke. He disclosed that the government had developed National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction, while the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) had completed draft regulations aimed at reducing salt content in processed foods.
According to him, the government is also implementing industrial trans-fat elimination policies and strengthening measures to improve sugar-sweetened beverage taxation and front-of-pack food labelling to encourage healthier dietary choices.
Salako urged food producers, regulators, researchers and consumers to work together to ensure safer and healthier food for all Nigerians, describing food safety as a national health security priority.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by the Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, Eva Edwards, said food safety remains a critical public health and socioeconomic issue.
She reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to reducing foodborne diseases through science-based regulation, effective surveillance, stronger food control systems and stakeholder collaboration, adding that safe and wholesome food is essential for improving nutrition and strengthening immunity.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) called for stronger regulatory measures to tackle the growing burden of diet-related diseases in Nigeria.
CAPPA Executive Director, Oluwafemi Akinbode, said food safety should go beyond preventing contamination to include protection against products that contribute to non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stroke and certain cancers.
The organisation welcomed the Senate’s recent move to strengthen Nigeria’s Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax regime and urged the Federal Government to adopt national sodium reduction targets, implement front-of-pack warning labels and tighten restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
World Food Safety Day is observed annually to promote actions aimed at preventing, detecting and managing food-related risks, with the 2026 edition highlighting the need for safer food systems and healthier diets.
