The Federal Government has been asked to compel food and beverage manufacturers to disclose the quantity of salt and sugar in their products, to check the rising cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions linked to their excessive consumption.
Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, pan-African non-governmental organisation, NGO, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA's Executive Director, at the lunch of Junk on Our Plates," in Lagos, yesterday, accused the food and beverage industry of leveraging extensive advertising, cultural trends, pricing strategies, and distribution networks to influence food culture and dietary habits, often prioritising highly processed, calorie-dense, and nutrient-poor foods due to their profitability and long shelf life.
This, he added, was causing the slow disappearance of healthy, natural, indigenous foods from Nigerians' menus.
According to him, "The report has exposed how food corporations use a sophisticated web of marketing strategies to get Nigerians, especially children and young adults hooked on ultra-processed foods which damage their health, undermine public health policies, and cost the Nigerian healthcare systems billions."
He warned that the widespread promotion of these foods, high in saturated fats, salt, and sugar (HFSS), is increasingly redefining global dietary patterns and impacting public health.
According to Oluwafemi, the findings showed that through "aggressive marketing, cultural co-optation, celebrity endorsements, and deceptive labeling, the corporations had entrenched ultra-processed, high-sugar, and high-sodium products in Nigeria's food environment, targeting children, youth, low-income communities, and cultural identities to drive sales.
"We acknowledged the Nigerian government's "bold steps" to confront the challenge by, for example, introducing the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage, SSB, Tax of N10 per litre on SSBs aimed at discouraging their excessive consumption and reducing the risk of diet-related diseases.
""We need clear and readable front-of-pack warning labels on processed foods. We need limits on salt and sugar content. And we need public awareness campaigns and food policymaking that are state-led, free from corporate sponsorship or influence.
"Government need to strengthen regulations on the marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly to children, increasing Nigeria's SSB tax from N10 to N130 to make sugary beverages less cost-attractive; and implementing national sodium reduction programs.
"Nigeria can take impactful steps toward promoting healthier dietary habits, reducing the crippling burden of non-communicable diseases and safeguarding the well-being of its population," he added.
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