Semovita Does Not Contain Plastic Materials – NAFDAC
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has described as misleading a social media video showing a woman washing Golden Penny Semovita in a sieve using cold water, claiming that the residue she got after sieving was plastic.
NAFDAC Director General, Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, in a statement made available to this medium today, said after analytical testing carried out in its internationally accredited laboratories, the result showed that there were no plastic or any similar harmful contaminants in Golden Penny Semovita, adding that the product contains the expected components plus the required Vitamin A.
The Agency, therefore, called on the general public to disregard the social media video.
The alleged Golden Penny Semovita is a brand of semolina, a very popular flour made from wheat and consumed in several parts of the world. Semolina contains mainly water, carbohydrates and about 13% of gluten-forming proteins.
Gluten is made up of two classes of proteins – glutenin and gliadin, which upon addition of water combine to form gluten, a protein that gives nutritive value and imparts other characteristic properties to the product. Glutenin normally gives a bread dough the ability to rise during baking while gliadin gives it the viscous and elastic (viscoelastic) properties, or it simply makes it extensible and elastic. This latter property is the rubbery/plastic-like appearance that was exhibited in the said video. Semolina has no plastic content in it; it only exhibits viscous and elastic properties. The rubbery-like material that was observed in the video after many washing with water is the gluten that formed after the gluten-forming proteins get mixed with water.
Golden Penny Semovita is manufactured by Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc., a registered company which has been granted marketing authorization by NAFDAC to manufacture the product and offer for sale in Nigeria. The company’s operations were certified by NAFDAC after meeting the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).
While reassuring the public that Golden Penny Semovita and indeed all other semolina products registered by the Agency are safe for human consumption having been so approved by the Agency following science-driven regulatory diligence, NAFDAC said there is no cause for apprehension by consumers as such approved products are manufactured in line with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and in compliance with the Nigerian Industrial Standards, which is continuously monitored by NAFDAC.
The Agency implored members of the public to exercise discretion in the use of social media to address any suspicion they may have on regulated products, noting that resorting to social media has the tendency to cause fear and panic.
NAFDAC called on the public to always contact the nearest NAFDAC office or contact NAFDAC via online channels at reforms@nafdac.gov.ng Or Call: 0800-1-NAFDAC (0800-1-623322) for immediate response whenever there need for them to do so.
