Lagos residents shun rotten tomatoes over health fears

Lagos residents shun rotten tomatoes over health fears

Some residents of Lagos State say they shun rotten or stale tomatoes, popularly known as “esha”, following government warnings about the health risks associated with consuming spoiled produce.

The residents spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

VMT NEWS reports that the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency recently cautioned residents against consuming spoiled or fungus-infested tomatoes because of the dangers they pose to human health.

The warning came amid a sharp increase in tomato prices earlier in May due to shortages caused by the end of the harvest season.

A 50kg basket of tomatoes, which sold for between N25,000 and N30,000 in January, rose to as high as N125,000 in May, prompting many consumers to resort to cheaper spoiled alternatives.

However, prices have recently dropped, with a 50kg basket now selling for between N58,000 and N75,000, depending on the variety.

At Ojo, Mrs Sarah Omokaya said she now relies more on peppers and onions when preparing meals to reduce her use of tomatoes.

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“In all sincerity, I used to buy ‘esha’ tomatoes, but one has to be careful about what they eat so as not to become penny wise and pound foolish,” she said.

According to her, the health implications associated with aflatoxin contamination make the consumption of spoiled tomatoes risky.

“One may end up spending more on hospital bills than on buying fresh tomatoes.

“I also think more awareness should be created on the dangers of consuming broken and stale tomatoes,” Omokaya said.

Similarly, Mrs Favour Braye, a resident of Ikeja, said she usually preserves tomatoes during periods of abundance and prefers processed alternatives to spoiled produce.

“I usually stock up tomatoes early in the year when they are abundant, so the sudden increase in prices has not affected me much.

“I would rather use tinned or processed tomatoes than buy rotten ones. Even before the government warned, I never considered buying them,” she said.

Also speaking, Mrs Lere Ogunsanmi, a hairstylist in Alimosho, said she had completely stopped buying “Esha” tomatoes since the government advisory.

“I would rather use dried pepper, onions and tinned tomatoes to prepare stew for my family than use broken tomatoes,” she said.

Ogunsanmi, however, expressed concern over the use of stale tomatoes by some food vendors trying to cope with rising costs.

“Because of the nature of my job, I eat outside often, and many food vendors use ‘Esha’ tomatoes to cut costs.

“For now, I prefer to stick to homemade meals to protect my health,” she said.

However, a trader of tomatoes and pepper, simply known as Mustapha at New Era market, Iyana-ipaja, said few people still patronise the broken tomatoes at giveaway prices.

“Some people still buy the broken tomatoes from us to add to the good ones they bought.

” The quantity of the good tomatoes may not be enough for some customers, so they buy the broken ones to increase the quantity.

“But not everybody buys the broken tomatoes, I sometimes take them home to my family to cook,” Mustapha.

Also, Mrs Bimbo Ayoola, another tomatoes trader at Iyana-ipaja, said most educated people don’t buy the broken tomatoes but some food traders buy them.

“Most educated people I know do not buy the broken tomatoes from us, they will rather buy what they can afford.

“But some cooked food traders buy the broken tomatoes. They are not totally bad, it depends how well you clean them,” she said.