Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has said that genetically modified foods (GMOs) are not inherently harmful to human health, provided that they meet established safety standards.
She made this known during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, amid growing public debate around the consumption and regulation of GMO products in Nigeria.
“GMOs are genetically modified foods when it comes to food, and they are not bad for us,” she said. “They’re not bad for us, depending on what type of foods they are and whether the safety considerations have been taken.”
Adeyeye explained that the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of GMO products, while NAFDAC collaborates with them to certify food quality.
“We work in collaboration with the biosafety management agency. We have an MOU with them. They are mandated to ensure that the foods that have GMO are of quality, they are safe, and they are efficacious. Without them certifying that they have done their due diligence in their laboratory or for desk review or whatever, we cannot approve” she added.
The NAFDAC DG, who described herself as a “food freak,” emphasized the importance of checking food labels for GMO indications. She assured Nigerians that approved products in the market undergo strict safety evaluations.
“For NAFDAC, our goal is to ensure that the food we approve for the market is safe, has quality, and is efficacious,” she stated.
Adeyeye’s comment on GMO foods came amid the ongoing debates over the safety and labeling of genetically modified foods in Nigeria, with advocates calling for transparency while critics raise health concerns.
