World Food Safety Day: CAPPA Pushes For Tougher Food Policies As Diet-Related Diseases Rise
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
As Nigeria grapples with a growing burden of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and other non-communicable diseases, health advocates are calling for urgent reforms to make the nation’s food environment safer and healthier.
Marking World Food Safety Day 2026, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) urged the Federal Government to adopt stronger healthy food policies, warning that unsafe food goes beyond contamination and includes products loaded with excessive sugar, salt, unhealthy fats and harmful additives.
In a statement issued on Sunday, CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, described Nigeria’s rising consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages as a major public health concern, saying millions of Nigerians are already battling diet-related illnesses that place enormous pressure on families and the healthcare system.
The organisation commended the Nigerian Senate for passing a bill to strengthen the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax framework and urged the House of Representatives to fast-track its approval and transmission to the President for assent.
CAPPA also called for the adoption of a national sodium reduction target, implementation of Front-of-Pack Warning Labelling on packaged foods and beverages, and stricter restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
The group warned against using food fortification as a justification for unhealthy products, insisting that adding vitamins and minerals to ultra-processed foods does not automatically make them healthy.
According to CAPPA, Nigeria must prioritise science-driven public health policies over commercial interests, noting that resistance to food regulations often mirrors tactics previously used by the tobacco industry to weaken health interventions.
The organisation called on health regulators, lawmakers, consumer groups and public health advocates to strengthen collaboration in creating healthier food environments, stressing that truly safe food should nourish and protect citizens rather than contribute to preventable diseases.
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