Despite increasing warnings from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), consumers have kept patronising unbranded and rewrapped monosodium glutamate (MSG).
A visit to most markets in Northern Nigeria shows that there is a huge influx of unbranded products. Like it is with adulterated products, many unbranded MSG commodities rewrapped and displayed in transparent nylon bags for consumers to buy.
The most worrisome is the fact that the consumption of these unbranded MSG products has grown significantly among Northerners, posing a serious health risk.
This is because the unbranded MSGs are sold in the open, from uncovered unbranded sacks and in measurements to unsuspecting buyers, who have chosen quantity over quality.
Unlike leading brands, which are packed in sachets, sold in healthy sizes and approved by NAFDAC, these unbranded raw ones are the opposite. The alarming part is that their manufacturers cannot be traced to check for their authenticity.
In the Northern part of Nigeria, it seems it has come to stay because the demand is high.It was gathered that at the Singer and Abubakar Rimi Markets in Kano, a 25kg bag sells for N45,000, allowing retailers to sell in small units, including measuring in what locals call ‘mudu’.
At the central markets in Kaduna and Maiduguri, Sabon Gari market in Sokoto, the demand is very high, and the price of a 25kg bag ranges between N46,000 and N50,000. In a 25kg bag, there are as many as 10 to 15 ‘mudu’. The customers, not minding the health risks, prefer this unapproved product because of the number of mudus and the flexibility to adulterate the product by mixing it with salt to increase its bulk and make more profit. The food culture of the North, too, being one that allows for very sweet drinks and sweet foods, presents a good market for such seasonings.
