By Ngozi Nwoke
In July 2019, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) warned Nigerians to be careful when buying and consuming cow skin.
Its Director General, Moji Adeyeye, said: “Unscrupulous businessmen and traders are now diverting animal hides meant for industrial use into the food chain for consumption.” She alleged that some of the companies illegally imported hides from countries such as Lebanon and Turkey.
The Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Kaduna State, also disclosed its proposed plan to proscribe the consumption of animal skin.
NILEST Director General, Prof Muhammad Yakubu, said: “The ban will help improve the country’s dormant leather sector, adding that consuming animal skin, which has little nutritional value, should be discontinued in order to save the industry and help the country’s economy.
“To the best of my knowledge, Nigerians are the only people in the world that overvalue skin as food; after all, ponmo has no nutritional value. At one point, there was a motion before the National Assembly; it was debated, but I don`t know how the matter was thrown away. If we get our tanneries, our footwear and leather production working well in Nigeria, people will hardly get ponmo to buy and eat.”
The DG disclosed that the institution, in partnership with industry stakeholders, would contact the national assembly and state governments to propose laws prohibiting the consumption of ponmo.
Insatiable demand
Interestingly, despite warnings by health experts and the call to ban ponmo by government agencies due to how it is processed with dangerous items such as tyres, plastics, engine oil; which have been linked to cancer and other deadly health conditions, there is still an insatiable demand.
Miss Vivian Eric runs a ‘mama-put joint’ on Ogunlana Street, Surulere, Lagos: “Among all my protein sources, my customers prefer ponmo, shaki, roundabout and floater to meat. They finish quicker than others.”
Deyemi Adenuga was met savouring a plate of rice and ponmo in a buka in Surulere:
“Ponmo is very affordable and available. When going home, I buy 400-naira ponmo for my wife and it serves us for a meal. It is cheaper than red meat, chicken, goat meat and fish. People think that ponmo is meant for the poor who cannot afford other meat like goat meat, but it doesn’t matter because even the rich like to eat ponmo.”
Should ponmo be banned? He responded: “This is not the first time we have heard that the government wants to ban ponmo. But it has never been possible and it cannot be possible to ban it entirely because that is the only protein that the poorest person can afford.”
Abike sells ponmo in Oyingbo Market, Lagos: “I have been in this ponmo business for four years. It has expanded into two branches. My daughter manages the other shop in the market. Ponmo is something that people like to buy every day. You see this basin of ponmo? It finishes before 4p.m. I don’t have to struggle to get buyers.
“Sometimes my customers even wait for me to arrive. I make sure they are well cleaned and washed to make them attractive to buyers. That is why it will be hard to stop people from buying it.”
A buyer, Tina, said: “My children like ponmo a lot because it is very soft. It has no bone, so it’s easy for them to chew it without stress. I have heard about the health damages it can cause. But I have never heard that someone died from eating it. And if it was that dangerous to the health, why has the government not banned it since?”
Taiwo Akindele is a butcher in an abattoir, Ifako Agege, Lagos. He narrated the process of preparing ponnmo, making it sound healthy and safe to consume: “After skinning the cow, we roast the skin with firewood and kerosene. Afterwards we scrap the skin and wash them clean for supply to the markets. We used to roast them with tyres and plastic bottles until we were cautioned by the state health regulatory board when they came on inspection.”
Mr. Lawal Arogundade, lecturer, Department of Economics, Lagos State University (LASU), told Daily Sun:
“The continuous consumption of cow skin should give concerns to the government and to us as a people, especially on how much the tanning and leather industry is losing in the country.
“The cowhides are meant to be put into good use to manufacture quality leather shoes, bags and wallets. Rather, they are being preserved for human consumption. Nigeria is losing out of the $75 billion global leather industry and still imports leather.”
No nutritional value
A nutritionist, Mrs Elizabeth Okon, said: “It is baffling how most Nigerians love ponmo so much that they believe a good day meal is incomplete without it. When you attend social events, be sure to see ponmo served in almost all the foods. It is well garnished and looking appetising to an irresistible point. But the puzzling truth is that ponmo contains little or no nutritional value.
“Instead of consuming meat that has no nutritional benefit, the best recommendation for consumption is white meats such as chicken, especially chicken breasts, fish, goat meat and turkey. We have always advised patients to eat healthy.
“We should try not to be carried away by how appetising ponmo looks, but we must be concerned about how they are processed. If only people know how these cowhides are processed, I think that will help them make better choices. It’s shocking to see people eat it despite the warnings.”
Imminent health dangers
Dr. Ojo Oluwafemi, raised concerns over the health conditions of some of the animals, killed due to certain illnesses: “Some of these cows suffer from ailments and because of these ailments, they are usually given injections which contain chemicals. The cow rearers don’t allow these injections to complete its duration of treatment. They just go ahead to kill these animals while the injection is still active.
“At this stage, if people consume the cow skin, chances are that they are consuming the chemicals from the injection directly because the skin part of the animal retains most of the harmful substances.
“Now, people assume that the process of roasting the cow skin in the fire has killed all the harmful substances and made it safe for consumption. That is falsely believed, which is why they say ignorance is a deadly disease. What you don’t know is mightier than you.
“The process of preparation cannot be relied upon. You cannot guarantee the accuracy of the hygiene in those places. You cannot guarantee the cleanliness of the water used in those places and you cannot guarantee how safe it is in the human body.
“They shouldn’t be consumed at all. Before the ponmo was brought to the market, a lot of different unhygienic substances such as plastic bottles, rubber tyres and so on, were used in roasting them. These substances emanate harmful chemicals.”
Creating enabling
environment for leather
Professor, Faculty of Management Sciences, LASU, Abike Bolarinwa, stressed the need for government to create an enabling environment for leather industries to thrive to reduce consumption of cow skin: “Economic growth and employment is guaranteed if the leather industry is well developed and regulated. This is the part where the support and assistance of the Federal Government is required to expand and enhance.
“An enabling environment for the tanning and leather industry to operate without hitches should be created. There are lots of potential benefits from this sector. Firstly, we look at the reduced consumption of cow skin. People will no longer consume it largely. Secondly, lots of health issues will be averted or reduced as people will not have cancer-related diseases due to the consumption of the cow skin. Thirdly, job creation and economic growth will increase.”
Harmful chemicals
A chemical engineer, Mr Adeniyi Ayoola, was emphatic: “Ponmo should not be eaten at all. Some of the animal hides have skin diseases. The process of treating them is linked with chemicals that are generally stored in the tissues of the animals, which will eventually end up in humans when consumed resulting in kidney and liver diseases.
“A chemical called Formaldehyde is a highly toxic and poisonous chemical that is deadly if absorbed by inhalation. It can cause severe respiratory tract and skin irritation, including dizziness or suffocation.
“Some ponmo processors preserve their ponmo in Formalin to make it thick and increase in size so that it attracts more buyers. This chemical is very dangerous and can drastically damage the kidney and liver when it begins to accumulate in the body.
“When roasting cow skin, things such as tires and plastics, as well as other things, are used to keep the fire burning. Those things activate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), which exposes a person to a great risk of cancer. It is those harmful objects that cause abnormal growth of cells in the body, which is called cancer.
“There is a disease called Colorectal, which is one of the most popular diseases that many people are suffering from. It has been researched that there is a link between the consumption of cow skin and increased levels of colon disease and cancer. All these diseases are mainly due to the method of preparation.”
Chairman, Ponmo Dealers Association, Mushin Market, Lagos, Mr Yakub Matanmi, said it would be a tough task for government to ban the consumption of cow skin: “It is the source of livelihood for many people such as butchers, cleaners and sellers.”