Irish dairy products flood Nigerian market posing hidden health risks to unaware consumers

WEST AFRICA – Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, has been found to be the biggest dumping site market for cheap Irish dairy products by an investigation conducted by two news agencies.

A collaborative investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and Noteworthy, an Irish news outlet, showed that for years, West Africa has been a commercial hub for cheap milk substitutes from the EU.

The Nigerian dairy market is dominated by fat-filled milk powder (FFMP), which is produced by blending skimmed milk powder with vegetable fat after removing the original milk fat.

Official data seen by the investigators showed that Ireland exported fat-filled milk powder valued at N686 billion to Nigeria between 2020 and 2023.

Sadly, unknown to the vast section of Nigerian consumers is that in Europe, where most of these products are manufactured, they are not classified as milk. FFMP in Ireland is sold only to business owners for the production of food items such as Yogurt and ice cream.

The cheap Irish dairy products (fat-filled powder) is advertised and sold as milk to unsuspecting Nigerians who cannot decipher real milk from what is simply an imitation of it, the investigation explained.

The products can be found neatly arranged on supermarkets shelves, sold in large, open market spaces throughout the country.

In the city suburbs, they are sold in makeshift grocery shops by the roadside and hawked by street vendors at dawn as condiments for tea, making them a staple for many homes.

Two Irish products – Milksi and Kerrygold Avantage – are among the most common FFMP products sold in supermarkets, malls, and open markets in Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES observed that FFMP sold in Nigeria is labelled as “Instant-filled milk powder,” while Whole Milk Powder (WMP) is labelled as “full cream powder,” and Skimmed Milk Powder is labelled as “skimmed milk powder.”

Interviews with many traders, wholesalers and retailers across the country revealed that FFMP is considered to be good for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.

With a prevalence of 27.6 per cent among women and 14.5 per cent among men, obesity is a concern for a significant number of Nigeria’s population.

Other dairy traders said this is partly why FFMP is always in high demand aside from its cost is predicated on the notion that FFMP, unlike Whole Milk Powder (WMP), has zero fat content.

FFMP is also said to originally be meant for children but became accepted and consumed by adults as the cost of dairy products skyrocketed due to the country’s inflation.

The EU Common Market Organizations’ (CMO) regulation defines milk as the white liquid produced by mammals, typically cows, and collected during the milking process. It dictates that milk should be pure, with nothing added or extracted.

However, FFMP, the product that dominates the Nigerian market space, the milk fat, an essential content of milk, has been completely extracted and replaced with vegetable oil.

The Codex Standard for Milk Powder and Cream Powder, states that whole milk contains a minimum of 26 per cent of milk fat. Similarly, FFMP in Nigeria contains at least 28 per cent of vegetable fat sourced from palm oil or coconut oil.

There is currently no conclusive body of research specifically dedicated to the long-term health impacts of fat-filled powder but researchers on the global stage have argued that the consistent intake of FFMP could trigger obesity.

Graham O’Neil, a lecturer at Technological University in Dublin, told Noteworthy that FFMP could potentially contribute to higher cholesterol levels and can increase the risk of heart disease when consumed at high volume.

“The impact can also manifest itself in terms of increased weight, blood pressure, or cardiovascular issues,” he said.

The local dairy industry in Nigeria is highly underdeveloped and underfunded, a sharp contrast to what occurs in the EU, where dairy farmers and companies are supported and subsidised through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Even local dairy companies rely on imported powdered milk. They either import and repackage powdered milk or reconstitute imported powdered milk into liquid milk. 

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