EU ban on Nigerian exports

The European Union’s Rapid Alert System for food says it has detected excessive levels of chemical contaminants in Nigerian food exports. These include beans, melon seeds, sweet potatoes, cashew kernels, dried fish and meat, peanut chips, nutmeg, soft drinks and sesame seeds.

The discovery prompted the EU to ban the import of these foods until the pesticide level reaches a “safe” limit of 01. mg per kilogram. The ban stays in effect until June 2016.

But, the ban is not a bolt from the blue, observed the Nigerian magazine Punch:

“For some time, the EU has been warning Nigeria that these items constitute a danger to human health because they contain a high level of unauthorized pesticide. The EU said it issued 50 notifications to Nigerian beans exporters since January 2013.

“It is baffling,” the editors went on, “that Nigerian authorities didn’t take any significant steps to reverse the situation. The United Kingdom issued 13 border rejection alerts to Nigerian beans exporters between January and June 2015. Our lax system will continue to hamper the economy from appropriating the benefits derivable from a revived export program.”

Source: frostillustrated.com