THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it is probing a widely shared social media post in which a woman allegedly used polythene-laced oil to fry plantain chips.
In a statement by NAFDAC’s resident media consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Saturday, January 20, the agency said it was taking a science-based approach to evaluate the claim before taking action.
The organization reassured the public that it was committed to protecting public health.
Before slicing plantains to prepare chips, the viral clip purports that a woman melted roughly five pieces of “olonka rubber” (polythene) into oil and claimed that adding the polythene makes chips stronger and more durable after frying.
NAFDAC said in its statement, ‘The attention of the management of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has been drawn to viral posts making the rounds on social media where an individual was reporting the alleged frying of plantain chips by a woman who before she grated the plantain into the hot oil melted about five of the white polythene, what we call ‘olonka rubber’ into the oil.”
However, the agency noted that the post began circulating before the date the practice was allegedly observed without indicating the geographical location.
