•Fruits market in Lagos
A banana, plantain or mango may look perfectly ripe — but its glow could come at a price. Nutrition experts warn that fruits treated with unsafe chemicals or excessive pesticide residues can trigger immediate poisoning symptoms and, with repeated exposure, damage the nervous system, liver, kidneys and hormones.
The practice, driven by economic pressure and weak monitoring, is putting unsuspecting consumers at risk, reports Saturday Independent.
For many Nigerians, fruits such as bananas, plantains and mangoes are a regular part of daily meals, valued for their nutritional benefits and affordability. Yet their attractive appearance and apparent freshness can conceal a food-safety concern that may have serious consequences for consumers’ health.
Nutrition experts have warned that regularly consuming fruits containing unsafe levels of pesticide or other chemical residues could expose individuals to immediate poisoning symptoms and potentially serious long-term health complications, depending on the substance involved, the level of exposure and the frequency of consumption.
The possible consequences, they said, include nervous-system damage, liver and kidney impairment, immune-system effects, hormonal disruption, reproductive and developmental complications, as well as an increased risk of cancer in certain circumstances.
The warning highlights the potential danger posed by the inappropriate use of chemicals to hasten fruit ripening or extend shelf life — a practice stakeholders attribute to a combination of economic pressure, perishability, inadequate storage facilities and weak monitoring across the food supply chain.
According to Pharm. Orume Beatrice of the Department of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health, consuming fruits treated with inappropriate chemicals, treated at excessive concentrations or harvested before the required waiting period could result in relatively high exposure to harmful substances.
She explained that the immediate health effects could range from gastrointestinal distress to neurological symptoms, depending on the pesticide involved.
Possible short-term consequences, she stated, include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea, alongside headache, dizziness and weakness.
She further identified excessive sweating or salivation, blurred vision, tingling sensations, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose or throat, and breathing difficulties as possible effects.
“In severe poisoning,” she added, “exposure could result in muscle twitching and neurological symptoms.”
Orume stressed that pesticides differ considerably in their acute toxicity, meaning that the severity of symptoms would depend substantially on the particular chemical and the quantity to which the individual was exposed.
While immediate symptoms may be more noticeable, the potential consequences of repeated exposure to unsafe chemical residues raise deeper concerns for public health.
Orume explained that some pesticides could affect specific organs and biological systems over time, making regular consumption of contaminated food a concern even where exposure did not produce obvious symptoms immediately.
She listed possible long-term effects as neurotoxicity, liver and kidney damage, immune-system effects, hormonal or endocrine disruption, reproductive or developmental complications, and metabolic effects.
She also noted that certain chemicals, under particular exposure circumstances, could be associated with increased cancer risk.
The nervous system, she explained, could be affected through neurotoxic effects, while repeated exposure to certain substances could place pressure on organs responsible for vital functions, including the liver and kidneys.
However, she cautioned against treating all chemically treated fruits as automatically capable of causing cancer or organ damage.
“It would be misleading to say that eating treated fruit causes cancer or organ damage,” she stated, emphasising that the health risk depended on the particular substance and dose.
According to her, pesticides authorised for food use are assessed to establish exposure levels expected to be safe, while maximum residue limits and acceptable daily intakes are established based on toxicological evidence.
She explained that the detection of a chemical residue alone did not automatically mean that a fruit was dangerous, as food safety authorities assess the quantity and toxicity of the substance in determining acceptable exposure levels.
Orume noted that even relatively small exposures could become important when contaminated foods were consumed frequently over months or years, particularly where several foods contained the same pesticide.
This means that consumers could face cumulative exposure through different food items, rather than from a single serving of fruit.
She also identified children as potentially more vulnerable because of their smaller body size and developing organs.
According to her, the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation assess both acute and chronic dietary exposure to chemical residues, rather than focusing solely on whether a chemical is detectable in one piece of fruit.
The distinction is important because the absence of immediate symptoms does not, by itself, establish that repeated exposure to excessive chemical residues is without risk.
Adebowale Onafowora, Managing Director of BIC Farms Concept, expressed concern over the use of dangerous industrial chemicals such as calcium carbide to force fruit ripening, describing the practice as a form of poisoning that reflects weaknesses in the food system.
He argued that the practice was avoidable but continued because traders and middlemen faced difficult conditions, including long transportation distances, highly perishable produce and inadequate storage facilities.
According to him, fruits such as plantains, bananas and mangoes are often harvested unripe to survive transportation from rural production areas to urban markets.
Upon arrival, traders face pressure to sell quickly before the produce deteriorates, particularly when goods have been purchased with high-interest credit.
He explained that without temperature- controlled aggregation hubs, ambient heat could cause harvested produce to deteriorate rapidly, making chemicals a cheap but reckless means of extending their marketability or hastening ripening.
Prince Oyewumi Oyedele Oyetunde, Editor-in-Chief of Farmers Choice Magazine, similarly identified economic pressure, fruit perishability, consumer demand, inadequate storage and transportation facilities, unreliable electricity and limited awareness of approved substances as factors encouraging the practice.
He added that weak monitoring could further allow unsafe practices to continue.
Oyewole Okewole, Senior Associate Consultant at FutuX Agri-consult Limited, noted that the short marketing window for highly perishable commodities such as tomatoes, bananas and plantains often placed farmers under financial pressure.
He explained that poor roads, inadequate cold-storage systems and the absence of guaranteed markets could reduce farmers’ ability to wait for better prices, making chemical use an avenue for meeting market expectations.
With the potential health implications of unsafe chemical residues, stakeholders emphasised the need to promote safer methods of fruit ripening and post-harvest management.
Onafowora identified controlled application of food-grade ethylene gas as a safer alternative for achieving uniform fruit ripening without leaving toxic residues associated with dangerous industrial chemicals.
He also recommended traditional controlled ripening using naturally occurring ethylene from ripe fruits in enclosed, ventilated and shaded spaces.
Other alternatives include modified-atmosphere packaging, zero-energy cooling chambers and approved food-grade coatings where applicable.
Oyewumi advocated harvesting fruits at the appropriate maturity stage, improved refrigeration, ventilation, temperature and humidity control, as well as proper sorting, grading, packaging and hygienic handling.
Okewole recommended solar-powered cold rooms, zero-energy cooling chambers, pre-cooling where appropriate, improved packaging and handling, and the use of crates rather than sacks or rough containers to reduce bruising.
He also suggested processing fruits into juice, purée, dried products or pulp when fresh-market prices were poor.
Orume confirmed that penalties existed for the use of inappropriate agricultural chemicals and the sale of food containing prohibited substances or pesticide residues above permitted limits.
She listed possible enforcement actions as seizure or destruction of produce, withdrawal from sale, fines, suspension or revocation of licences and, depending on the circumstances, criminal prosecution or imprisonment.
While not every fruit carrying a detectable residue is necessarily dangerous, stakeholders’ warnings underscore the importance of ensuring that fruits reaching the market are produced, ripened, stored and handled in ways that protect public health.
Beyond the immediate symptoms that could follow high exposure, the possibility of long-term effects on vital organs and biological systems makes food safety monitoring, responsible chemical use and safer post-harvest practices essential components of consumer protection.
