Ogun alerts residents of toxic ‘Ponmo’ in markets

The Ogun state government has warned residents of the state to be wary of consuming cattle hide and skin popularly known as ponmo which is purported to have been imported into the country.
The government stated that the imported ponmo is actually industrial ‘Ponmo’ laden with tanning chemicals, which is being sold to the unsuspecting public, by scrupulous businessmen, who are taking advantage of the scarcity of the product which is a local soup delicacy in most homes of the south west part of the country and beyond.
The government lamented that the poisonous hide and skin was being sold to residents in some markets in the state.
The government said some unscrupulous businessmen were taking advantage of the gap in demand and supply of ‘Ponmo’ to sell the industrial ‘Ponmo’ to residents.

Read also: Deadly delicacy! 5 die after eating dog meat in Rivers

The state commissioner for Agriculture, Ronke Sokefun who raised the alarm, yesterday, while addressing stakeholders and ‘Ponmo’ sellers in her office, in Abeokuta, the state capital, explained that the toxic ‘Ponmo’ otherwise known as ‘imported ponmo’ is often brownish black, foul smelling, abnormally thick with layers and ridiculously cheap compared to the certified ponmo.
According to her, what is being sold is raw hide meant for leather production from African and European countries like Sudan, Italy and Japan.

“Tanning chemicals like biocides and fungicides are added along the processing chain to preserve the hides against protein degradation, bacteria and mould growth that would have damaged the hides and skin,” she said.

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