The Director General of the Nigerian
Institute of Leather Science & Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Dr Isuwa Adamu, has said that consumption of animal hides and skin, popularly known
as Ponmo is dangerous to human health. Speaking to the News
Agency of Nigeria, NAN, today in Abuja, Adamu said scientific research has
shown that ponmo doesn't have any nutritional value to human health
and that some of the animals where ponmo is gotten from are usually
sick & harbor dangerous chemicals.
"In fact, it is not advisable for
you to consume ponmo in the sense that some of the animals killed and
used for ponmo actually have skin diseases. Some of these skin
diseases are such that boiling them ordinarily, may not kill the
bacteria. Some of the animals because of the ailments that they have gone
through, are sometimes treated by way of injection with chemicals.
People don’t allow these chemicals to complete its cycle and be
removed from the body; they sometimes go ahead to kill these animals. So,
if you consume the ponmo, the tendency is that you are consuming the
chemicals directly because the skin part of the animal retains most of the
harmful substances. Remember your skin is the major protective organ of
your body and your skin harbours so many of the harmful things that are
supposed to penetrate into your body,” he explained.
He also advised the Federal government to put in place policies that would
reduce the consumption of Ponmo in Nigeria
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