By Taibat Ummi Yakubu

Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has warned Nigerians against assuming that fruits and vegetables that look fresh and healthy are automatically safe for consumption, raising concerns over the alleged use of dangerous chemicals to ripen, preserve and treat produce across the country.

Osinbajo said the growing practice could expose unsuspecting consumers to harmful substances long before the food gets to their tables.

The former vice-president, who is also a professor of law, made the disclosure at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar in Lagos on August 28. The event, themed “Leaving the Earth Better Than We Found It,” focused on issues surrounding food, agriculture and environmental responsibility.

Recounting a personal experience, Osinbajo said his wife, Dolapo, once abandoned carbonated drinks in favour of freshly squeezed orange juice because she believed it was a healthier option. Instead, she began suffering unusual and persistent headaches.

According to him, after other possible causes had been ruled out, a sample of the orange juice was taken to a laboratory for testing.

“The results came back. It showed that the freshly squeezed orange juice was not fit for human consumption,” he said.

For Osinbajo, the incident was a reminder that the journey of food from the farm to the consumer can introduce risks that are largely invisible to the person buying or eating it.

He said while some farmers rely on pesticides to protect crops, concerns also exist over the alleged use of chemicals by traders to make fruits ripen faster, preserve vegetables for longer periods or maintain their attractive appearance.

One substance he singled out was calcium carbide, which he said is allegedly used to accelerate the ripening of fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaws and tomatoes.

Osinbajo argued that the problem should not be dismissed as isolated incidents, pointing to studies and surveys conducted in different parts of Nigeria.

He cited a 2024 study in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, involving 20 fruit sellers, saying 10 of those interviewed admitted using calcium carbide to ripen fruits.

He also referred to research conducted in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where, according to him, 25 per cent of surveyed fruit sellers admitted using calcium carbide for the same purpose.

In Lagos, Osinbajo said a 2023 survey of 50 fruit and vegetable retailers found that 22 admitted using chemicals to preserve their produce.

The figures, he said, should concern both authorities and consumers because most buyers have no practical way of knowing what a fruit or vegetable has been exposed to before it reaches the market.

Advertisement

“The fact that fruit looks fresh doesn’t mean that it is safe,” Osinbajo warned. “And the fact that a drink is natural doesn’t mean that something dangerous has not been added to it along the way, especially along the journey from the farm to the table.”

He further listed several substances he said traders had identified as being used in treating or preserving food products, including Gamma-lin-20, Sniper, phosphide, DDT and brodifacoum.

Osinbajo described phosphide as a highly toxic fumigant and brodifacoum as a type of rat poison, stressing the potential consequences of introducing substances designed for non-food purposes into the food chain.

His comments come amid wider concerns about food safety in Nigeria, particularly the need to strengthen monitoring from farms and storage facilities to markets and consumers.

He called for tougher regulation and more effective enforcement, arguing that government agencies must step up efforts to identify and stop the use of unsafe chemicals in the production, processing and distribution of food.

But Osinbajo said regulation alone would not solve the problem.

He urged government authorities to educate farmers, traders and other players in the food supply chain while ensuring that safer alternatives are readily available for pest control, fruit ripening and food preservation.

Consumers, he added, also have a role to play.

He encouraged Nigerians to pay greater attention to where their food comes from, ask questions about how produce is handled, wash fruits and vegetables properly and report suspicious practices to the relevant authorities.

For Osinbajo, tackling the problem requires more than government inspections and regulations. It also requires ordinary Nigerians to become more conscious of what enters their homes and communities.

“Government regulation needs to be enforced, but in a country this size, we have to be active ourselves,” he said, urging citizens to report questionable practices and demand safer food systems.

The warning ultimately carries a simple message for consumers: a bright colour, fresh appearance or “natural” label may not tell the whole story of what is on the plate.