Food fraud presents a growing threat globally, impacting consumer health; food safety; and brand credibility. The key motivation for food fraud is usually an economic or financial advantage. Economically motivated food fraud (EMA) is the illegal deception, deliberate and intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a food product, which may pose a possible health risk to unsuspecting consumers. This study aims to assess the awareness and attitudes of Nigerian consumers towards food authenticity and the regulatory measures in place to combat food adulteration. The study comprised 2160 respondents who were asked about their knowledge of high-profile food fraud incidents, frequently adulterated products, and their opinions of the effects of food fraud and preventative measures. The findings of this study revealed that more than a third of respondents were unfamiliar with the term “food fraud”. However, they were aware of local high-profile cases, such as “plastic rice” and counterfeit dairy products. Most participants relied on point-of-sale information for assessing food authenticity, with street vendors being viewed as potential sources of food adulteration. The study also found that more than half of the respondents were concerned about food fraud regardless of whether it involved local or imported products. A wide variety of food items were identified as prone to adulteration or fraudulent activity. These included alcoholic drinks, dairy products, honey, rice, and tomato paste, amongst others. These findings highlight the need for improved consumer awareness, regulatory effectiveness, and remediation efforts to combat food fraud in Nigeria.

In vitro study of ethanolic, cold and hot-water extracts of Cymbopogon citratus, Moringa oleifera, Ocimum gratissimum and Clerodendrum volubile was determined against toxigenic Aspergillus flavus. The antifungal efficacies of the medicinal plants were investigated using agar well diffusion technique and minimum inhibitory concentration. The phytochemical constituents of the plants were also investigated. It was observed that, hot-water extract of C. citratus was most effective against toxigenic A. flavus, cold water extract of M. oleifera was effective against toxigenic A. flavus, the most antifungal effect of O. gratissimum and C. volubile were efficient using ethanolic extraction method. One thousand milligrams per millilitres concentration of these plant extracts had inhibitory effect on toxigenic A. flavus. The results of phytochemical screening of the plant extracts for the detection of volatile oil, glycoside, tannins and saponins shows that saponin and tannin, were detected in the ethanolic, cold and hot-water extract of M. oleifera, O. gratissimum and C. volubile. These result of the research indicates that ethanolic extracts of M. oleifera, O. gratissimum and C. volubile are used to cure infections caused by toxigenic A. flavus and the extracts may have role as pharmaceutical and preservatives.

This research work assessed the microflora of rooms sprayed with different insecticides and air freshners with the aim of investigating the effect of the aerosols on the types of microflora in the room environment. Eight (8) different samples of chemical aerosols were used they are: Mobile insecticide(Imidacloprid), Raid multipurpose insect killer(1R-trans Phenothrin), Morten Insecticide(pyrethroids), Rambo Insecticide(pyrethroid compound). as categorized as Insecticides, while Febreze(hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin), Air wick(Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether (aka dipropylene glycol methyl ether), Glade(allyl 3-cyclohexylpropionate, allyl caproate, benzyl alcohol, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and Top breeze(Cyclodextrin) were purchased as air fresheners/fragrance and eight (8) different rooms were used. Microorganisms isolated from the rooms before and after spraying with aerosols were: Staphylococus aureus, Lactobacillus jensenii, Bacillus coagulans, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Micrococcus spp., Aerococcus viridans, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Streptococcus spp., Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. The result of eight different rooms sprayed with different aerosol as Insecticide and air fresheners showed that, some aerosols were able to inhibit some organisms that were initially present in some rooms while there were introduction of another organisms from some aerosols into some rooms. The occurrence of Staphylococus aureus (100%) was the highest in all the rooms followed by Aspergillus niger (87.5) and A. flavus (75%). Lactobacillus jensenii, Bacillus coagulans and Micrococcus spp. had the lowest frequency of occurrence (12.5%).