Expdonaloaded News; How safe are instant noodles?

There ingredients are clearly listed on each pack of instant noodles but who has taken the pains to explain to the public and consumers their effects on their bodies?  Indeed, Nigeria has quite a number of food scientists, nutritionists, dietetics and experts in several related fields who are capable of subjecting these instant noodles to serious analysis in order to present an informed opinion to Nigerians despite the clean bill of health already given to them by regulatory agencies.
Should we be left at the mercy of producers who are certainly aware of the harmful nature of the ingredients they use in the production of these instant noodles, but who would choose to hide them from us to protect their huge profits?
Since these fears began, Nigerians have waited in vain for the regulatory agencies like nafdac, son, or even the Ministry of Health to come out to either confirm or allay the people’s fears. Yet, the questions crying for answers are many and very scary. For instance, do instant noodles actually contain Styrofoam which can cause cancer? Is Propylene Glycol one of the ingredients used in their preparation which is known to weaken the immune system as some findings are saying?  What are the likely negative effects of instant noodles on the development of a foetus, the digestive system, the brain, the heart and the kidney?  Given the rate of its consumption, do instant noodles have enough nutritional value to serve as a healthy diet for the growing child, adolescent and pregnant woman?
These are questions and fears our experts should help the citizenry to urgently address. The people need to be properly advised. No responsible government should watch and allow its citizens to continue ingesting harmful products only to embark on some panic measures when an epidemic breaks out. The government and its regulatory agencies whose responsibility it is to safeguard the health of the people should be proactive.These agencies, especially, nafdac and son should not appear to have forgotten that it is their work to regulate the manufacture, advertisement, sale and use of food items in the country.  In order to do this work creditably, they should conduct periodic tests on products to determine which one has continued to meet the approved standard.
On no account must they seek to favour the companies that manufacture these products at the expense of Nigerian lives. On behalf of all Nigerian children, youths and parents who consume instant noodles, i wish to call on nafdac, son, and Ministry of Health to investigate these reports about these noodles and properly advise us before it becomes late.
When a particular brand of instant noodles experienced some crisis in 2004 as a result of reports that some consumers had taken ill after eating it, nafdac had at that time investigated the matter and later certified it okay for consumption.  Another call is coming out today for the reinvestigation of not just a brand, but all the brands of instant noodles consumed in this country to determine how healthy they are.
According to world instant noodles association, Nigeria was in 2013 rated as the 12th largest consumer of instant noodles.  This can now give us a fair idea of the number of people that consume the product in nigeria .  Today, there are more than ten different brands of instant noodles with varieties of flavours with, of course, different effects on their consumers.
Some of the attractions of these instant noodles are that they are cheap, quick and easy to prepare and tasty.  Like i observed earlier, it was once consumed as snacks or something to hold on to while waiting for the main meal.  But today, it has become part of the family diet in many homes.  In some homes, it is the daily breakfast for kids.
Among college students, it is a routine meal.  It is the most requested for at many joints and food centres.  Many offices and road side workers have made it their a daily meal.  Corporate workers book them in advance for lunch and the noodles are prepared in a ‘corporate way’ and delivered to their offices almost on daily basis.
Looking around in the streets in the evenings and even at nights, you would find queues of waiting buyers and some others seated at instant noodles spots either eating or waiting for it to be served them as that day’s dinner.  Now, if the discoveries are true, do we not see an epidemic ahead, that is, packs of time bombs waiting to explode and release all manner of diseases like: hypertension, diabetes, stroke, obesity, heart and kidney problems, miscarriages, malnutrition and diverse abnormalities?  What a future health risk many youths and homes are unwarily nurturing today?  Will our nation be able to handle the offshoot?
We need to know the quantity of instant noodles that is safe for the child, youth, pregnant woman and other adults, if we must continue to consume them.  The producers must be mandated to place more value on the lives of their consumers over their pursuit of gain and fame.  Also, all adverts of these tantalizingly packaged noodles ought to be censored to present only what is true about them.  It might even be necessary to compel the manufacturers to place warnings on the packs to regulate the rate at which people consume them. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine!
Concluded