By Amos Aar
THE SOCIAL Mobilisation Technical Committee (SOMTEC) has raised serious health concerns about unhygienic food practices in Benue State, warning that indiscriminate street food vending and the growing trend of unsafe food processing, particularly the use of harmful chemicals in ice fish preservation, pose hazardous risks to public health.
At the 4th SOMTEC meeting held at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Makurdi, nutrition officer under the Benue State Ministry of Health and Human Services, Tser Terdoo Miriam, presented a detailed report that exposed disturbing methods used by some vendors to preserve and sell ice fish.
Terdoo explained that many of the frozen fish imported into Nigeria spend months at sea, often arriving spoiled. She further revealed that in their desperate efforts to keep them from total decay, some suppliers resort to preserving the fish with formalin, a chemical used for embalming corpses.
“Formalin is not food-safe. It’s strictly for embalming,” Terdoo warned. “Yet, it’s being used to preserve ice fish that eventually make their way into our homes and markets. This is a silent but dangerous contributor to the rising cases of cancer and other chronic illnesses in our society,” she added.
She emphasized that even after being bought in markets like Wurukum in Makurdi, the fish are often poorly handled, exposed to flies, dust, and bacteria as vendors sell them by the roadside, sometimes perched over open gutters. Worse still, some consumers buy and eat them immediately without any further cooking.
Terdoo advised buyers to soak the fish in hot salted water for at least ten minutes before consumption to reduce chemical residues. She also called on retailers to adopt better preservation methods using cold storage vehicles and hygienic display systems, such as enclosed glass cases, to prevent exposure.
“Awareness must be created to curb this menace,” she said, adding that ice fish, once considered a cheap and accessible source of protein for ordinary people, is fast becoming a silent killer due to poor handling.
She further condemned the growing trend of food vendors using unhealthy cooking oils. “Groundnut oil is expensive, so some processors now fry food with pork fat or recycle oil for up to a year, just topping it up daily. That practice is toxic. The excess acidity clogs arteries and leads to hypertension and other life-threatening conditions,” she added.
Dr. Maria Onyilo, the SOMTEC facilitator, echoed these concerns, citing daily encounters with food vendors operating under questionable conditions. “There’s no regulation. You see vendors everywhere; open spaces, near drains and dusty roads. I have stopped eating outside after 2pm because the food quality is just too risky. Leftovers from the morning are mixed up, reprocessed and sold again,” she lamented.
Other committee members, including SOMTEC chairman and Director of Information and Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Comfort Ejima Ajunwa, Mr Terna Venda from National Population Commission (NPC), revealed firsthand experiences of buying fish only to discover maggots inside.They supported the call for urgent awareness campaigns.
Etunke Emmanuel of Harvest FM suggested that the Ministry of Health should produce public service jingles on food safety and pay a courtesy call to the Managing Director of Harvest FM so that the jingles will be aired regularly on the local radio station. Similarly, Terna Venda of the NPC called for routine inspections and enforcement against vendors violating food safety standards.
The meeting, which brought together representatives from key agencies including the Primary Health Care Board, BENGONET, Ministry of Women Affairs, BERWASSA, and BSEMA, received reports from BENGONET, women affairs, primary health care board and Budget Planning Commission in addition to that the ministry of Health.
Dr. Onyilo, who co-coordinated the session with Mrs. Ajunwa, commended participants for their commitment and urged them to sustain the campaign.
The next SOMTEC meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2025, with a renewed focus on protecting the health of the Benue population through proactive food safety interventions.
