The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has announced that ethoxyquin has been banned as an antioxidant in feed for food-producing animals.
In a statement on Tuesday, NAFDAC’s Director General, Christianah Mojisola Adeyeye, said the decision was made following a review of the scientific evidence.
The evidence suggested that ethoxyquin may be responsible for a wide range of health-related problems in both animals and humans.
“Ethoxyquin (EQ, 6-ethoxy-1, 2-dihydro-2, 2, 4-trimethylquinoline) is widely used in animal feed in order to protect it against lipid peroxidation. It cannot be used in any food for human consumption, but it can pass from feed to farmed fish, poultry, and eggs, so human beings can be exposed to this antioxidant,” Adeyeye said.
“Lipid autooxidation is a cascade phenomenon ensuring continuous delivery of free radicals, which initiate continuous peroxidation. This results in food rancidity, which manifests itself as the change in taste, scent, and colour and a decrease in the shelf life of the product.”
Furthermore, Adeyeye said the third compound, EQ, is one of the best-known feed antioxidants for domestic animals and fish with an undeniable advantage of high antioxidant capacity and low production costs.
However, some authors have posited that it is responsible for a wide range of health-related issues in dogs as well as in humans, e.g., cancer.
The statement added that in light of these concerns, NAFDAC has decided to ban the use of ethoxyquin in feed for food-producing animals.
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