Heavy Metals and Pesticides: A Threat To Food Safety And Security, Warns Professor

From Abel Leonard, Lafia

Professor Bitrus Tukura, Professor of Chemistry at Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK), has warned that exposure to environmental pollution by heavy metals and pesticides remains a global threat, particularly to food safety and security.

In his 41st Inaugural Lecture titled “Heavy metals and pesticides in the environment: Good enemies of food safety and security,” delivered at the university in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Professor Tukura highlighted the dangers of these pollutants, especially in developing countries.

“The exposures remain a global threat to food safety and food security, especially in developing countries where poverty, lack of investment in modern technology, and weak environmental legislation lead to high pollution levels,” he stated.

Professor Tukura urged the federal government to take proactive measures to address this issue, including:

Regular monitoring: Implementing a system for regularly monitoring the levels of heavy metals and pesticides in environmental matrices, resident biota, and food crops. This will provide valuable information about their speciation, sources, fate in the environment, and bioaccumulation in the food chain.

Risk assessment: Using the collected data to conduct risk assessments of chemical pollutants on human health.

Public education: Continuously educating the public about the harmful effects of heavy metals and pesticides on human health and the environment.

Minimizing contamination: Minimizing the contamination of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to safeguard the biota and the health of their consumers.

Supporting research: Supporting, promoting, and encouraging scientific research on environmental assessment of chemical pollutants through allocation of appropriate funds.

Enforcing environmental laws: Implementing and enforcing existing environmental safety laws for a cleaner environment and effective food safety systems.

Professor Sa’adatu Liman, Vice Chancellor of NSUK, commended the choice of the topic, emphasizing the importance of food safety and security in the country.

“We all know food is becoming a very important issue today, and the environment is contaminated with a lot of impurities, metal impurities, and pesticides,” she said. “Even the fertilizers we are using have a negative impact on food safety and food security. Our soil is getting tired. Environmental climate change is affecting the production of food.”

She assured that during her tenure as VC of NSUK, the monthly Inaugural lecture series initiated by her predecessor, Professor Suleiman Bala-Mohammed, will be sustained and further developed.