Nigeria’s food labels under fire over NCD health risks

Medical experts have raised alarm over Nigeria’s current nutritional labelling model at the back of products, saying it is a leading driver of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and high blood pressure.

At a recent media training on salt and front of pack labelling (FOPL) organised by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA), the experts called for the adoption of the FOPL method by processors and manufacturers as a standard in food packaging, as it enables consumers make more informed, healthier choices.

The FOPL is a packaging model where nutritional ingredients used in processed foods are noted on the front to enable consumers to make more informed, healthier choices, as having them minutely written behind packages is leading to an increase in non-communicable deaths like high blood pressure and kidney-related health challenges.

Jerome Mafeni, technical adviser at NHAD. said having nutrient labelling on the back of processed commodities is complicated for the average Nigerian. “Consumers cannot easily understand or use complicated nutrition information systems.”

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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 6.2 million Nigerians are living with hypertension, which poses the highest cardiovascular disease burden. A disease experts describe as a ‘silent killer’.

“Unhealthy diet high in energy, sugar, salt and saturated fat is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as type two diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer,” said Mafeni.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets the goal of ending all forms of malnutrition and reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third.

The development becomes more urgent as medical experts argue that nutrition labelling is one of the policy tools that can support healthy diets. For a country with over 200 million people, cardiovascular diseases account for 29 percent of deaths.

Bukola Odele, programme officer at CAPPA, highlights that over 27 percent of Nigerians suffer from obesity because of the nutrients contained in the foods they purchase.

“NCDs are no longer ‘diseases of the rich’; they increasingly affect low-income households,” she said. “Almost everyone knows someone who suffers from high blood pressure. It is closer to home now than ever.”

Odele pinned this surge on high consumption of ultra-processed foods loaded with nutrients of concern like salt, sugar, and saturated fats.

For her, regulating FOPL is “a public health tool used to reduce sodium intake, employing various approaches and yielding diverse outcomes”.

As of 2019, about 19.1 million people died from high blood pressure in Africa’s most populous nation, according to data from the WHO.

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Joseph Ekiyor, a public health consultant, shared that health-related issues connected to high salt and sugar intakes have risen amongst Nigerians, including children.

He described an unhealthy diet as highly processed foods, energy-dense meals, and foods high in fat, sugar, and salt. Ekiyor, who is also a practising general physician, encouraged exercising and paying attention to diet for a longer lifespan.

Femi Stephen, food safety technical lead at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, reiterated that an average of one person in a household suffers from high blood pressure, emphasing the role of healthier food choices amongst Nigerians.

“For every stakeholder in every sector, we have one goal: reduce sodium today for a healthier Nigeria tomorrow,” he said.

He said the federal government is actively working with the 2024 National Guidelines for Sodium Reduction policy to cut sodium reduction by 30 percent by 2030.

Stephen added that his department is actively working with controlling bodies like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in ensuring that each phase of the policy is implemented.

The event was supported by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).