Experts cautions against fortifying ultra-processed foods over rising NCDs

Public health advocates under the Coalition for Healthy Food Advocacy and National Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Coalition (NSSBTC) have raised the alarm over growing efforts to use ultra-processed foods as vehicles for food fortification in Nigeria.

They warned that the approach could deepen the country’s already troubling burden of diet-related diseases.

Speaking on Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja themed: “Drawing Attention to Public Health Dangers of Fortifying Ultra-Processed Foods”, the coalition urged the Federal Government to urgently review its fortification strategy and ensure that nutrition policies do not inadvertently promote unhealthy consumption patterns.

The coalition cited mounting evidence that Nigeria’s changing food environment is driving a surge in non-communicable diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular conditions.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), said, “We support food fortification. When properly designed, it is a useful tool for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. What is in dispute, however, is how Nigeria is choosing to implement this strategy.”

He noted that the increasing reliance on products such as seasoning cubes, instant noodles, sugary cereals and refined flours risks sending the wrong message to consumers.

“Fortifying ultra-processed foods creates what experts call a ‘health halo’. It gives the impression that these products are healthy, even when they are high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. The result is that people are lured into consuming more of them,” Oluwafemi said.

Also, Technical Advisor of Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) Dr. Jerome Mafeni drew attention to the dangers of fortifying high-sodium products such as bouillon cubes, which he stressed are widely consumed across Nigerian households.

“Nigeria is already consuming nearly double the recommended daily sodium intake,” he said. “We are taking a product that contributes significantly to excess salt intake and beginning to position it as part of the nutrition solution. That is a fundamental contradiction.”

He cautioned that fortifying such products could worsen health outcomes by increasing consumption.

“We cannot promote sodium reduction on one hand and normalise high-sodium products on the other. Public health policy must reduce risk, not repackage it.

“A fortified cube is still a high-sodium risk. Adding micronutrients does not remove its core health danger,” Mafeni added.

Prof Dike Ojji, Lead Researcher, Cardiovascular Research Unit at the University of Abuja, highlighted the scale of the crisis.

“Cardiovascular diseases now account for about 10 to 11 per cent of all deaths in Nigeria,” he said. “Hypertension alone affects between 25 and 30 per cent of Nigerians, and much of this is linked to diet, particularly high salt intake and the growing consumption of ultra-processed foods.”

He warned that the healthcare system is already under strain and may not be able to cope with the long-term costs of treating these chronic conditions.

On her part, Executive Director of Keen & Care Initiative, Josephine Alabi, commended the government for its efforts to reduce NCDs but maintained that the pathway must not bear unintended consequences and worsening burden for women and children.

She explained that ‘When a family member suffers a catastrophic health event, such as a stroke, heart disease, or diabetes complications, the weight of long-term care falls on women and girls.

“As the traditional anchors of unpaid caregiving rest on their shoulders, their time is drained, robbing them of opportunities for education, leisure, and income.’

The coalition emphasised that while food fortification remains a valid public health tool, its effectiveness depends heavily on the choice of food vehicles.

They described the promotion of fortified ultra-processed foods as a “double-edged sword”, one that may address micronutrient deficiencies on the surface but ultimately fuels long-term health problems.

“Adding vitamins to a poor-quality product does not transform it into a healthy one,” the coalition stressed. “If we are not careful, the cure may become part of the problem.”

The group also warned that large-scale fortification programmes built around industrial food systems tend to favour multinational corporations, while sidelining local farmers and traditional food systems.

“This approach risks weakening our food sovereignty and pushing nutrient-rich indigenous foods out of reach,” the coalition noted.

The coalition tasked key regulatory bodies, including the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to rethink the current direction.

They argued that considering the prevailing public health crisis and the huge burden of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, government must prioritize its goal to reduce Nigeria’s sodium intake by 30 percent by 2030 to safeguard public health, curb the non-communicable disease burden and boost national productivity.

Furthermore, the coalition noted that the unfair burden of care occasioned by NCDs is borne by women within low-income household, thereby further stressing the family economically and socially.

Among its recommendations, the coalition urged that ultra-processed foods that could increase Nigeria’s salt, sodium, sugar and unhealthy fat intake should not be adopted as vehicles for food fortification.”

It advised the government to “enable citizens to adopt healthy dietary behaviours that promote the consumption of our traditional nutrient-dense staples by implementing interventions that expand access to safe, wholesome and adequate food.

“Introduce front-of-pack warning labels on unhealthy foods, restrict misleading “fortified with” claims on high-salt, high-sugar products, prioritise biofortification of safe, staple foods, support smallholder farmers and local food systems and strengthen taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and channel the proceeds into public health programmes.”

The coalition urged the government to focus on long-term, sustainable solutions rooted in local food systems and dietary diversity, adding that “Fortifying poison does not make it medicine.”

The coalition also emphasised the need for coherence in policy design.