President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr Ayoola Oduntan has said that Nigerians are exposed to the risk of consuming infected eggs due to the smuggling of live chickens into the country.
Speaking on Tuesday, Oduntan said most of smuggled live chickens are layers that have been sprayed with chemicals.
‘’The association is more concerned with the smuggled chickens coming from European farms than the eggs.
“Those live chickens are sprayed with chemicals which find their ways inside the eggs,” he said.
The PAN President said that eggs produced with smuggled layers would test positive to the effects of chemicals such chickens must have been exposed to.
He also debunked allegations that raw egg was being imported into Nigeria.
According to him, the only egg powder is being imported by some manufacturers as inputs for their products.
“First of all, nobody is importing whole egg into Nigeria.
“How do you want to do it, is it by air, it will be too expensive.
”Is it by ship? It will get rotten before it gets to Nigeria and you do not freeze egg.
“So, whoever that says rotten eggs are being imported into Nigeria, l don’t think that person knows what he is saying,” he said.
“I am not aware of rotten eggs being imported into the country. I am not aware also of any plastic eggs in the market.”