Nutritionists decry lack of nutrients in imported poultry products

Some Nigerian nutritionists have revealed that about 50 million Nigerians lack basic nutrients in their bodies required for growth and building strong immune system. They state that most people are ignorant of the fact that 90 percent of imported frozen foods in the country are filled with poisonous chemicals.

According to them, most consumers of the frozen foods are likely to fall ill often because such foods lack some nutrients crucial to immune system building. The nutritionists, who spoke with BDSUNDAY, explain that there are natural low fat, low-cholesterol options available in the locally produced chicken and fish.

A nutritionist, Seye Oke, explains that these local products are a good source of protein, although chicken has more protein per kilo than fish. According to her, they have Omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for overall good health.

“They help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as help to reduce inflammation. They are also an antioxidant, meaning they help fight free radicals and prevent cell damage, but you can’t find these in imported frozen foods,” she says.

Another nutritionist, Kehinde Ajao explains that the local poultry is rich in calcium, phosphorus and other essential vitamins.  To him, “calcium and phosphorus help build healthy bones and teeth; magnesium helps with muscle contractions; potassium helps with protein synthesis and helps build muscles; zinc helps boosts the immune system; and iodine is necessary for proper thyroid function.

“Most of our locally grown frozen poultry offer Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium, and vitamin B2 that helps to boost the immune system as well as maintain healthy hair, skin, bones, teeth and mucous membranes. Chicken is rich in niacin, a B vitamin, and vitamin B6. The combination of these two vitamins makes chicken a good food to support metabolism and energy levels in the body. Niacin helps regulate blood sugar levels and is needed to help the body convert fats, sugars and proteins into energy. Vitamin B6 helps breakdown carbohydrates, also an energy source for the body.”

The Poultry Association of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to stem the tide of smuggled poultry products, a menace that has forced many of them to close operations.
According to its president, Ayoola Oduntan, the continued smuggling of poultry products is depriving the country the much needed foreign exchange as well as job opportunities for the citizens.

“The biggest part of poultry industry is broiler businesses and in this country we produce about 300,000 metric tons of chicken annually for which consumes about 2 million tons of maize. This aspect alone has enabled us to engage over 500,000 maize farmers without putting into consideration other people involved in the production chain before it get to the end user. Nigerians need to realise that smuggled chicken is responsible for several health issues we are having in this country, due to the presence of high level of bacteria in the chicken coupled with high toxic chemicals that are used to preserve it just to ensure it gets to our market at cheaper rates,” he says.

Similarly, former chairman, Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State, John Olateru, explains that when the cold chain is broken, the nutrient drastically reduces. “That is why the perpetrators of this act use chemicals meant for preserving corpse to preserve the frozen chicken. In spite of this, you see some of the chicken already decomposed and our people still buy it without knowing the implication.

“Many even see it as a way to show off or prove that their economic status has improved, hence the need to abandon fish, ‘the food for the poor’, for imported turkey and chicken. You would feel ashamed for the ignorance of our people at social functions, as they eat these foods to their peril. Locally produced turkeys or chickens are fresh; no preservatives are used. They are only refrigerated and kept in good sanitary conditions, because it is expected that within two to three days they would have been bought and consumed,” he says.

An investment analyst, John Ayodele, says the fact that the foods are smuggled into the country and massively consumed indicates that there is a wide gap in the local market that needs to be bridged.
According to Ayodele, that gap is not as a result of inefficiencies of poultry owners but it is due to lack of high patronage on the part of the consumers. “Operators have invested in slaughtering and de-feathering machinery, packaging and storage facilities as well as marketing strategies to convince Nigerians to patronise their safer and more nutritious products.

Also, an economist, Olusola Owoeye, explains that Nigeria’s consumption is put at 1.5 million tons, while current production is estimated to be about 350,000 tons, leaving a demand and supply gap of 1.2 million tons, which is met through smuggling.

He states that to fully utilise the balance of the industry, installed capacity of 1.2 million tons will translate to significant benefits through more job creation; over a million new jobs in maize production, 300,000 new jobs in processing and 1,500,000 new jobs in ancillary raw materials, products and services.