Lagos residents raise concerns over unsafe fufu preparation, preservation

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Some residents in Lagos State have raised concerns over suspected unsafe preparation and preservation of fufu.

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They expressed their concerns in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Lagos.

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NAN reports that fufu, also known as akpu or santana in Nigeria, is a local staple made from fermented cassava.

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The cassava is peeled, soaked for days to ferment and remove toxins, blended, strained and cooked into a smooth dough.

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Ready-to-eat portions of fufu previously sold at N1,000 for 13 balls are now sold at the same price in smaller portions.

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Some consumers have gradually stopped eating fufu made in Lagos over concerns about its preparation, preservation and possible food poisoning.

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A resident of Ajegunle, Miss Omena Udonwa, said her past experiences with fufu preparation had led her family to start making it themselves.

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Udonwa said she was dissatisfied with the way some producers processed the staple.

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“I saw a piece of rubber inside a fufu I bought recently and, if not for my vigilance, I would have consumed it.

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“I once saw a producer who used detergent to wash the cassava and saw nothing wrong with what they did,” Udonwa said.

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A Costain resident, Mr Adedayo Falade, said he loved fufu because it gave him the energy to engage in hard labour without getting tired easily.

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Falade, however, expressed displeasure over the preparation methods used by some producers, saying they resulted in foul-smelling and sticky fufu.

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“I rarely eat fufu now. Some fufu stays for days and even weeks on sale without patronage due to poor preparation methods.

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“In spite of my love for fufu, I would rather source it from outside Lagos because I no longer trust how it is prepared here.

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“Some processors in Lagos are just greedy for extra gain, so they can boycott good practices just to sell the product,” Falade said.

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Another resident of Agege, Mrs Anuoluwapo Ayeni, said some fufu processors could be trusted, but consumers needed to be careful about where they bought the staple.

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“Fufu is a good meal, but I urge Lagosians to be careful where they purchase their fufu.

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“It will be beneficial to know how the fufu you consume is sourced and prepared to avoid health challenges in the future.

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“We still have good processors, but they are few. Everyone should be sure of what they consume,” Ayeni said.

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However, a fufu processor at Santana International, White Sand, Oyingbo, Mrs Hope Aniekan, described the stages involved in processing and storing the staple.

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Aniekan said the cassava was first peeled and thoroughly washed with clean water before being soaked for about two days.

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She explained that the soaked cassava was taken to a mill for grinding and subsequently filtered to remove unwanted particles.

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According to her, after 30 minutes, the resulting paste was placed in a sack, covered with plantain leaves and weighted with a heavy stone.

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“We adopt the traditional procedures in processing our fufu here. Our fufu can be trusted and our customers can attest to it.

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“We only make use of salt in our fufu as a means of preservation to prevent the infestation of maggots.

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“No other harmful additives are in our fufu, but I can only speak for myself. I don’t know how others process theirs.

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“We have heard rumours of some unscrupulous processors adding harmful substances to quickly ferment their fufu,” she said.

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Another resident and trader of the staple, simply known as Mama Chinonso, at Costain, said she used a warmer to preserve her fufu.

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She said the method could keep the fufu fresh for three days during warm weather and up to one week during cold weather.

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“I don’t add anything to preserve my fufu for long. When I am supplied, I simply keep it in my warmer to maintain its freshness.

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“In warm weather, the fufu can last for three days and still be edible, but in cold weather, it can last up to a week.

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“My family and I eat from it, so I won’t sell what I cannot eat,” she said.

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