A poultry expert, Mr Oduware Efe, has warned against the negative effect of imported frozen chicken consumption and encouraged Nigerians to patronise locally processed chicken.
Oduware made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.
He said there were multiple inherent dangers of consuming imported frozen chicken because of the chemical used in their preservation process.
“There are so many negative effects of consuming imported frozen chicken as it relates to health. Generally, they are not healthy for consumption, in comparison to freshly prepared chicken.
“It has been analysed by the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the University of Ibadan and other research institutes across the country and found that the chemical used in the preservation of these imported chicken is dangerous to the health.
“These preservatives are done in these foreign countries to make sure the chickens have a longer shelf life so that it does not get contaminated.
“However, the issue of storage and cold-chain transportation will make the chickens lose their value following hitches encountered during transportation.
“The chemicals used to preserve dead bodies are also used to preserve imported frozen chicken. The preservatives in the chicken contain heavy metals that are not good for the body.
“These metals have negative ripple effect on our internal organs such as kidneys, liver and even the lungs,” he told NAN.
Oduware also harped on the negative impact of consuming frozen imported chicken on the economy, calling on Nigerians to appreciate locally processed chicken in spite of the cost.
“The consumption of imported frozen chicken also has a negative impact on the economy of the country.
“When we import, we take jobs from Nigerians who are involved in the poultry value chain, which involves production, processing and marketing of locally bred chicken.
“We are killing the local economy when we consume imported frozen chicken. We have to preserve the jobs of these Nigerians by patronising our locally processed chicken,’’ he further said.
He said most of the imported frozen birds were offal, which is the rejected ones from their processing farms, which they do not want to circulate in their market.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
