Stop eating ‘moi-moi’ cooked in nylon bag … ‘It is poisonous’

Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural
development, on Thursday said ‘moi-moi’ (grind
beans) becomes poisonous when prepared in
cellophane (nylon) bags.
The minister made the disclosure in Abuja
during a one-day public hearing on food
security bill, organised by the senate
committee on agriculture and rural
development.
According to him, cellophane bags contain a
large dosage of dioxins that are harmful to
health.
He advised lovers of the delicacy to make
use of leaves in the preparation rather than
cellophane, adding that leaves do not
contain such poisonous substance.
Ogbeh said beans and grains preserved with
over dosage of pesticides by farmers and
sellers had killed many unsuspecting
Nigerians.
He also said the consumption of (pure) water
in sachets exposed to sun at over 28 degree
Celsius was poisonous and its consumption
responsible for many cases of kidney and
liver failure among Nigerians.
The minister said poorly boiled meat could
cause tuberculosis.
Ogbe said the habit of over-boiling meat in
Nigeria had helped to prevent tuberculosis
infection from under cooked beef.
“Many of the cows being moved from one
place to the other by herdsmen are already
infected with tuberculosis,” he said.
“But our practice of boiling meat very well
here has been the saving grace of people
being infected with the deadly disease.”
Ogbeh added that smuggled frozen chicken
preserved with formalin, a chemical
commonly used in the preservation of
corpses, posed a serious health challenge.
“The wrong application of fertiliser by
farmers has also led to consumption of
poisonous foods,” he said.
“Unknown to many farmers, there is specific
fertiliser for specific crops in specific states
in line with soil texture.”