NSPRI Boss Warns against Smoked Fish Consumption
The Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Professor Olufemi Peters, has warned against the consumption of locally smoked fish so as to avoid health hazards.
Peters, a Professor of Chemistry, who gave the warning on Tuesday in aninterview with Daily Times in Ilorin, said thatregular consumption of locally smoked fish, contained Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbon, could cause cancer.
“One of the main disadvantages of the way peasant farmers smoke theirfish is the presence of what we callPoly Aromatic Hydrocarbon inthe fish.
“Because they don’t know the side effects of this method, they allowthe substance to go back to the fish they smoked,” Peters added.
He said it was because of this hazardous substance that made WestAfrica Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Nigeria to commission three research institutes to design environmentallyfriendly smoking kiln.
Peters said NSPRI, Nigerian Fisheries and Fresh WaterResearch Institute (NFFRI), New Bussa, Niger State and Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Lagos, were mandated todesign the cost-effective kiln.
According to him, the aim of the smoking kiln was to reduce post-harvest loss, especially, in fish production.
“One of the technologies we focused on was to design smoking kiln thatwould reduce or eliminate the cancerogenic material, NSPRI has beenable to do this,” he added.
