A new report has exposed how food corporations use a sophisticated network of marketing strategies to attract Nigerians, especially children and young adults, in ultra -processed food consumption that damage their health, undermine public health policies and cost the Nigerian health system thousands of millions.
The report, garbage in our plates: expose the deceptive marketing of unhealthy foods in seven states in Nigeria, was presented on Wednesday in Lagos by the non -governmental Pan -African organization (NGOs) corporate responsibility and public participation Africa (CAPCA).
According to CAPPA, the report details a systematic assault and promoted by gains to public health by the food and beverage industry.
The findings of the NGOs revealed that, through aggressive marketing, cultural co -optation, the support of celebrities and the deceptive labeling, corporations have ultra -processed products, sugar and high products in the medium of sodium in the food environment of Nigeria: children, young people, low -income communities and cultural identities to boost sales.
The report accused the industry of taking advantage of extensive advertising, cultural trends, price strategies and distribution networks to influence food culture and dietary habits, often prioritizing highly processed foods, dense in calories and poor people in nutrients due to their profitability and long useful life.
This trend, he added, is contributing to the gradual disappearance of healthy, natural and indigenous foods of the Nigerian diets.
CAPPA recognized the “bold steps” of the Nigerian government when addressing the challenge, citing initiatives such as the introduction of sugary drinks (SSB) of N10 per liter, whose objective is to discourage excessive consumption and reduce the risk of diet -related diseases.
The report noted that, in 2023, the National Agency for the Control of Food and Medication Administration (NAFDAC) introduced regulations on trans fats and pre -ox arterial and cardal diseases in Nigeria.
“All these are good steps,” said Cappa executive director Akinbode Oluwafemi. However, he warned that “the food and beverage industry continues to exploit the lagoons. They use undercover marketing, target children and take advantage of the weak application of existing regulations to flood the market with unhealthy products: the tactics that remember the mortal strategies used by the tobacco industry.
CAPPA warned that the generalized promotion of foods rich in saturated fats, salt and sugar (HFSS) is remodeling global dietary patterns and negatively affecting public health.
As HFSS food dominates markets around the world, CAPPA said: “Non -communicable diseases (NCD), such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions related to excessive consumption, have increased, highlighting the need for stronger public health interventions to balance the influence of the food industry with the well -being of the consumer.”
Oluwafemi raised the alarm: “These tactics undermine existing public health policies,” and added that corporations take advantage of policy gaps to create an illusion of choice, “by denying people the right to precise information and healthier options.”
The report made several recommendations, including a call to stronger marketing regulations, particularly those aimed at children.
Oluwafemi also declared: “We need clear and legible frontal labels in processed foods. We need limits in salt and sugar content. And we need public awareness campaigns and formulation of food policies that are led by the State, free of sponsorship or corporate influence.”
Additional recommendations include strengthening regulations on the marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly for children, who collect the N10 to N130 SSB tax to make sugary drinks less profitable and implement national sodium reduction programs.
“Nigeria can take shocking measures to promote healthier dietary habits, reduce the paralyzing load of noncommunicable diseases and safeguard the well -being of its population,” added Oluwafemi.
Echoing this feeling, the assistant executive director of Cappa, Zikora Ibeh, commented: “We have discovered that Nigeria's food environment is changing, but for worse. More and more, we are consuming items that are not healthy, taking excessive amounts of salt, sugar, fat and very processed foods that are damage.”
“No one says that these corporations should be closed. We are saying that the government needs to intensify the application and regulations on these products so that consumers can easily identify harmful ingredients and understand the recommended intake.”
He urged Nigeria to invest in food systems that prioritize his citizens' health on the profit margins of multinational corporations. This, he argued, requires a direct public investment in the local food production, the expansion of agroecological agricultural systems and a reversal of commercial policies that allow unhealthy foreign products to flood the market.
Humphrey Ukeaja, industry monitoring officer in CAPPA, declared that the report highlights the “continuous trend of false narratives and intentional erroneous information tactics deployed by the food and drink industry in Nigeria to promote unhealthy diets.”
“These strategies, which include broad advertising, exploitation of cultural trends and strategic prices, contribute to the highest consumption of food -rich foods, poor in nutrients, feeding an increase in non -communicable diseases (NCD).
“In Nigeria, the prevalence of EDPs has increased abruptly in recent decades, with these diseases that represent at least 30 percent of all deaths annually. The urgency of effective political interventions has never been greater.”
By emphasizing the need to protect children from industry practices, CAPPA programs officer for the SSB fiscal campaign, Opeyemi Ibitoye, added: “If restrictions are imposed on how these SSB products are marketed, particularly children in schools and their surroundings, it will stop their demand for these drinks and products. This will also promote public health, which is the main objective of this advisor.” “
The NGO expressed its gratitude for “the notable efforts of its young defenders under the umbrella of the Vanguard Healthy Food Policy (HFPYV) and the Media Digital Cappa volunteers (CAPPA DMV), which spent time and resources to carry out this survey offline.”
He also recognized the technical support and the orientation provided by the global health defense incubator team (GHAI), which contributed to the development of the report.
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