Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised the alarm that agro-input dealers were endangering the life and health of Nigerians through the use of agrochemical, ‘Sniper’ and all other brands of ‘Dichlorvos’ (DDVP) to preserve foodstuffs.
The agency warned that the use of agrochemicals for such unapproved purposes could lead to death.
It expressed disappointment that despite several warnings and sensitisations, some traders continued to misuse and misapply the banned agrochemical (sniper) to preserve foods, thereby endangering the lives of unsuspecting consumers.
The agency explained that continuous misuse of dangerous agrochemicals in the preservation of foodstuffs aside death, could result in symptoms such as weakness of the body, headache, tightness in the chest, blurred vision, salivation, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, eye and skin irritation, eye pain, runny nose, lack of appetite, dizziness, convulsions, low blood pressure and possibly death.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement in Abuja, disclosed that its offices nationwide had been directed to ensure the enforcement of regulatory measures and take appropriate sanctions against defaulters as part of their post-marketing surveillance activities.