The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says tomato pastes containing sugar is safe for human consumption.
The clarification by the agency follows the ongoing rift between Erisco Foods Limited, manufacturer of Nagiko tomato paste, and Chioma Egodi, a consumer who gave a review of the product.
On September 17, Egodi made a post on Facebook, claiming that she tasted Nagiko Tomato mix — one of the tomato paste variants of the firm — and found it sugary.
Reacting in a statement, Erisco Foods described the claim as “untrue and unfounded”.
The company said the post was intended to mislead customers and discredit its image “as previously instigated by some elements and syndicates who are uncomfortable with our increasing market dominance as a leading indigenous manufacturer of 100% natural tomato pastes”.
Edogi was later arrested by the police after the company filed a complaint about the post.
In a statement on Friday, NAFDAC confirmed that Nagiko tomato mix is a registred product.
The agency quoted the product’s registration number as A8-7430.
“The product is not yet on our database due to a significant backlog. We are actively updating the Registered Products Database and addressing the backlog,” the statement reads.
NAFDAC added that the formulation of tomato paste and ketchup products with sugar “is safe for consumption”.
“Sugar is added to these products for a number of reasons, including but not limited to masking bitterness, enhancing colour and flavour, improving texture and taste consistency, and as a preservative,” the agency added.
“The safety limits of sugar in food products are determined by NAFDAC, and only sugar-containing products within these safety limits are approved by NAFDAC.“
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer, Tiger Foods, Mr Don Ebubeogu has explained why sugar is added to some tomato pastes by some manufacturers.
In a post on his official facebook page, Ebubeogu said that sugar may be added in order to balance the acidity of the tomato.
He explained that typically, in some commercially produced tomato pastes, a small amount of sugar may be added to balance the natural acidity of tomatoes and enhance the flavour and taste.
“Tomatoes are acidic, and the addition of sugar counteracts that. Therefore, the purpose of adding a pinch of sugar to processed tomato paste is to balance its acidity,” Ebubeogu said.
He, however, noted that there is no standard cap on the percentage of sugar to be added adding that it is the producer’s responsibility to indicate the percentage of added sugar.
He advised that consumers need to read the ingredient list on the product label to determine if any sugar has been added and if they are comfortable with the calorie level of the food they wish to purchase.
On customers giving reviews, the Tiger Foods CEO agreed that it is the right of the consumer to review the product they use without fear or favour.
“Such reviews should not be subjective with the intention to demarket and scare away existing and potential consumers of the brand.
“Consumer reviews strengthen companies to improve their products and services. That is one of the primary reasons most companies have Consumer Care or Research & Development Department,” Ebubeogu said.
He called on Nigerians to continue trusting made in Nigeria goods as it has been established that products made in Nigeria stand tall above the imported ones because of the stringent regulation and control by NAFDAC and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON).
“Consumers should, therefore, have faith and trust the process that produces most of the goods made in Nigeria,” Ebubeogu said.
