increased concerns about how healthy some bread in Nigeria are.
Unhygienic Practices
It seems NAFDAC that are supposed to protect the health of the citizens are not doing much in terms of regulating the standard of manufactured goods. Most Nigeria bakeries lack Standard equipment like Flour Mixer and so they divert to unusual means in flour mixing. Some use their hands or feet to do the mixing, endangering the health of the public. The untidy environment in which the bread are produced also speaks of the pathetic state of the industry
NAFDAC Cerification
Of course, theoretically every industry in Nigeria that manufacture food, drugs, cosmetics and other consumer goods must be certified by NAFDAC. In practice, this is far from what is obtainable. Most bread industries are not yet registered for years and they keep selling. Some of them manage to put labels suggesting that they are yet registered like NAFDAC REG NO:........ (yet to be registered)But for years they keep manufacturing without getting registered. And yet the poor consumers suffer from the nonchalance of greedy producers.
Potassium Bromate
Most countries have banned the use of this chemical additive in manufacturing. It is used in flour to improve the gluten. This gluten gives dough elasticity helping the dough to rise. That is why some bread is so big after manufacturing. Atimes, the potassium bromate persist in the consumed bread. Although this chemical help industries to make their profits because of increased production, it has been found to be potentially harmful to consumer
According to Livestrong, "The International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC,
labeled potassium bromate as a category 2B carcinogen. The IARC is a research organization associated with the World Health Organization. It tests substances that may cause cancer,
called carcinogens, and puts them into one of five categories.
Class 1 contains known human carcinogens and class 2A includes substances that are probable human carcinogens. Class 2B, which includes potassium bromate, indicates it is a possible
human carcinogen. Category 2B is used for substances that have caused cancer in laboratory animals but that have limited evidence of causing cancer in humans.
Nutritionally Deficient
Most bread are stripped of its healthy elements including bran and germ. Thus most of the vitamins and minerals are lost leaving you with nothing but a mucus forming, slice of bread. Some manufacturers also use saccharine, a chemical which is cheaper and helps sweeten the bread. So, instead of adding five cups of sugar
for , they add two cups and make it up with saccharine. Saccharine is unhealthy.
Microbial Contamination
Micro organisms such as fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae , yeast are useful in bread production as they contributes both to the texture and flavour of bread. But improper packaging can cause contamination by microbes and spores such as Serratia marcescens.
The truth is that bread is not meant to last for many days.
Four Nigerian pharmaceutical companies were awarded the World Health Organisation’s “Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP),”. Therfore much attention has to be paid to the food manufacturing industries to help safeguard our health
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