The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has warned the general public against the use of Sniper and all other brands of ‘Dichlorvos’ in the preservation of foodstuffs.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement on Sunday, said the use of Sniper to preserve foodstuffs have health implications that could lead to death.
The statement read in part, “The continuous misuse of the dangerous agrochemicals in the preservation of foodstuffs is replete with health implications with symptoms such as weakness, headache, tightness in the chest, blurred vision, salivation, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrheal, abdominal cramps, eye and skin irritation, eye pain, runny nose, lack of appetite, dizziness, convulsions, low blood pressure, and possibly death.
“The agency has to put in place some regulatory measures, which include the immediate ban on the importation and manufacture of Sniper and all other Dichlorvos in 100ml pack size only which was found to be the product readily available in unauthorised places.
“In addition, the agency has put in place measures against misuse and misapplication of this hazardous agrochemical which include a ban on hawking and prohibited sale of crop protection products in the open market and supermarkets nationwide.”
Adeyeye added that NAFDAC had also embarked on massive sensitisation in collaboration with relevant stakeholders on the safe and responsible use of crop protection products on agricultural commodity storage, conducted for farmers, grain merchants and aggregators in seven locations across the country.
Source: Punch