Allegation concerning plastic, harmful contaminants in Golden Penny Semovita, baseless, untrue — NAFDAC
By Matthew Denis
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has debunked the allegations making round on social media that some plastic and harmful contaminants are in Golden Penny Semovita.
The agency described the speculations as untrue and baseless as it is fabricated with the intention to discredit the product.
In a statement made available to Nigerian NewsDirect, NAFDAC said our attention has been drawn to a social media video showing a woman washing Golden Penny Semovita in a sieve using cold water.
“The woman claimed that the residue she got after sieving was plastic. A similar video was shown in 2020 and that led to a Press Release similar to this.
“Upon receiving the alerts from various quarters in the community in 2020, the Director General immediately gave a directive to conduct emergency post-marketing analysis using different brands of Semolina.
“The Agency investigated this claim by conducting appropriate analytical testing in her internationally accredited laboratories. The results showed that there was no plastic or any similar harmful contaminants in Golden Penny Semovita. It contained the expected components plus the required Vitamin A. NAFDAC therefore wishes to inform the general public that the claim in the social media video assertions is misleading.
“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 washings with water is the gluten that formed after the gluten-forming proteins get mixed with water.”
According to the statement 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).
“NAFDAC wishes to reassure 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. 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 called on members of the public are implored to exercise discretion in the use of social media to address any suspicion they may have on regulated products. Resorting to social media has the tendency to cause fear and panic.
