The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control announced on Tuesday that it was expanding its investigation of Indomie noodles to factories and markets
According to The PUNCH, this was due to concerns about the presence of ethylene oxide, a potential carcinogen, in the ‘Special Chicken Flavour’of Indomie instant noodles.
However, NAFDAC stated that Indomie’s “special chicken flavour instant noodles recalled by Malaysian and Taiwanese authorities is not registered for sale in Nigeria.”
NAFDAC further stated that Indomie noodles are on Nigeria’s import ban list and are not approved for importation into the nation.
The agency also stated that it had started randomly sampling Indomie noodles, seasoning from the manufacturing facility, and markets for the presence of ethylene oxide, and that the probe had been expanded to include other brands of instant noodles sold to Nigerians.
The makers of the product, Indofood, claimed that all instant noodles produced by the ICBP in Indonesia were processed in accordance with the food safety standards from the Codex Standard for Instant Noodles and standards established by the Indonesian government.
However, Malaysian and Taiwanese health officials claimed they discovered ethylene oxide, a substance that may cause cancer, in Indomie’s “special chicken” flavour noodles.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, issued a statement on Tuesday saying that the Ports Inspection Directorate was on high alert to prevent the importation of the suspect product into Nigeria.
“NAFDAC, as a responsible and responsive regulator, is taking swift actions to carry out random sampling and analysis of Indomie noodles, including the seasoning, for the presence of ethylene oxide, as well as extending the investigation to other brands of instant noodles offered for sale to Nigerians.
“We use this medium to assure the public that a thorough investigation of the products will be conducted both at the factory and market levels and our findings will be communicated.”
