As the world marks World Heart Day today, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has warned the Federal Government against policies that could encourage greater consumption of ultra-processed foods, saying mandatory fortification of bouillon cubes risks undermining efforts to protect Nigerians from diet-related diseases.
In a statement to commemorate the Day, CAPPA said Nigeria is already confronting a worsening unhealthy food environment, with ultra-processed foods increasingly embedded in everyday diets and aggressively marketed across communities.
World Heart Day, organised by the World Heart Federation, is observed every September 29. This year’s theme ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’, focuses on recognizing hidden, overlooked, or dismissed signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) early.
CAPPA’s Junk on Our Plates report, based on monitoring across seven states, documented how food and beverage companies use advertising, cultural imagery, celebrity endorsements, pricing strategies and product placement to promote foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, particularly among children, young people and low-income communities.
The organisation said the growing prominence of such products comes at a considerable public-health cost. Over time, diets high in salt, added sugars, saturated fats and other chemical additives are risk factors for obesity, hypertension, diabetes, kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke.
CAPPA noted that excessive sodium consumption is of particular concern because it contributes to high blood pressure, one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The WHO recommends that adults consume less than 2,000 mg of sodium per day, equivalent to less than 5 g of salt. The WHO also estimates that excessive sodium intake is associated with about 1.7 million deaths globally each year.
But the health consequences extend beyond the heart, with excessive sodium consumption also associated with kidney disease, adding to an already serious health challenge, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoH and SW). The WHO also notes that kidney disease is rising globally alongside conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, while limited access to testing, healthcare workers, medicines and kidney replacement therapy contributes to preventable deaths.
CAPPA said these realities should make sodium reduction a public-health priority in Nigeria, particularly as the country continues to face gaps in specialised healthcare capacity and infrastructure needed to prevent and treat cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
Against this backdrop, the organisation expressed concern over proposals to make the fortification of ultra-processed products such as bouillon cubes a mandatory nutrition intervention.
CAPPA stressed that adding vitamins and minerals to an ultra-processed food does not make the product healthy or cancel out excessive sodium, sugar or trans fats that may be present in it.
A product does not become a healthy food simply because beneficial micronutrients have been added to it, the organisation said.
CAPPA also rejected the argument that the widespread consumption of bouillon cubes makes them an appropriate vehicle for mandatory fortification.
CAPPA argued that the frequent consumption of a product by millions of Nigerians should prompt policymakers to examine its nutritional composition and potential health effects more carefully, not automatically make the product the preferred vehicle for delivering additional nutrients.
Indeed, CAPPA said, increasing the nutritional appeal of a heavily consumed processed product without simultaneously addressing its sodium content could send contradictory signals to consumers and undermine ongoing efforts to reduce salt consumption.
The organisation said Nigeria needs nutrition policies that address the country’s double burden of malnutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases together, rather than solving one problem in ways that could intensify another.
CAPPA urged the Federal Government to prioritise access to diverse, affordable and nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and other locally available foods, while strengthening policies that reduce excessive amounts of sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats in processed foods.
It also called for stronger implementation of Nigeria’s sodium-reduction measures, mandatory and easily understandable front-of-pack warning labels, effective regulation of unhealthy-food marketing and other policies designed to enable Nigerians to make healthier choices.
According to the organisation, public health policy should not force Nigerians to choose between obtaining essential micronutrients and protecting themselves from excessive sodium and other nutrients of concern.
‘Nigerians should be able to flavour their food without compromising their health,’ Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA’s Executive Director, said. ‘The widespread use of bouillon cubes is not a justification for exposing consumers to more sodium or for presenting ultra-processed products as solutions to Nigeria’s nutrition challenges.
‘Protecting the heart also involves protecting the food environment. Adding micronutrients to an unhealthy product does not make it healthy. Government must prioritise policies that make nutritious, minimally processed foods accessible and affordable, while reducing Nigerians’ exposure to excessive salt, sugar and unhealthy fats.’
CAPPA therefore urged the Federal Government, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to ensure that nutrition and food policies are guided first and foremost by independent public-health evidence and the long-term interests of Nigerians.
‘Every Nigerian deserves food that nourishes rather than food that comes with a hidden health cost,’ CAPPA said. ‘The way to address micronutrient deficiencies is to expand access to nutritious diets and evidence-based interventions, not to make unhealthy food appear healthier.’