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Beware Of That Ponmo Meat by NaijaPoint: 2:13am On Aug 29, 2015 |
On a hot afternoon at the popular Oluwa ni Sola Food Canteen at Oshodi, Lagos, Babatunde Samuel settled down at the table to relish his bowl of Amala which was generously drowned in gbegiri and ewedu soup. His preference for ponmo (cow skin) rather than beef and assorted meat as observed on most of the tables in the canteen set him apart from other customers who were equally enjoying their meals at the time. He was indeed on his own world with three well rounded rolls of ponmo and a piece of lean meat. None of other the eaters customers who preferred to go for meat and smoked fish could claim to have enjoyed their meals than he did. Babatunde is probably one among Nigeria’s millions of finicky eaters. Concern over health implication of excessive consumption of meat, particularly red meat has forced many to seek an alternative to meat, with many embracing ponmo as a substitute for meain it’s stead. Nutrition experts are of the opinion that some red meat are high in saturated fat, which is believed to raise blood cholesterol. High level of blood cholesterol, they say, increases the risk of heart disease. Experts have however faulted the erroneous view of many who consider ponmo as a substitute for meat. A food technologist at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Mrs. Funmi Oladunmoye told Sunday Sun that ponmo lacks the needed nutrition and should never be seen as a substitute for meat. “The nutritional value of ponmo is very low and it is best used as emulsifier (gummy substance) sort of in food product development,” she said. Nutritionists claim ponmo delicacy lacks the nutritional benefit that could be of help to the human health. Analysis by experts on the nutritional value on a 40 gram piece of cow skin puts the calorie at 150g, total fat (4g), saturated fat ( 1g), poly saturated fat (0g), mono saturated fat (0g) trans fat (0g) cholestron (0g) sodium (0mg) potassium (0mg) and total fat (0g), dietary fibre (0g), sugar (0 %) protein (0 %) vitamin (0%) vitamin c(0%) calcium (0%) and iron(0%). But in spite of the claim that cow skin is lacking nutrition wise, findings by Sunday Sun show that many Nigerians crave for this delicacy even much more than fish and meat which are considered to be of more nutritional value. Mrs. Rita Okeile, a housewife told Sunday Sun at Oke-Odo Market in Lagos that her family ate more of ponmo than meat. “My husband was the first to suggest that we cut down on our meat consumption for health reasons. Not quite long after his suggestion, I stumbled on a write-up about the negative effect of eating meat in excess especially when one is growing older. For almost three years now, we’ve eaten less of meat but more of ponmo and fish in my house,” Mrs. Okeile said. A similar concern has restricted Alhaji Idowu Yusuf to the consumption of ponmo and fish for close to five years. “I was sick in September, 2010 after which I was advised to cut down on my meat consumption. Since then I have resorted to eating ponmo and fish. But I must confess, I eat more of ponmo now than fish,” the 54-year-old confessed. Curiously, the high preference for ponmo among Nigerians trying to cut down on their meat consumption on health ground as findings by Sunday Sun revealed, is in sharp contrast to the anticipated change on the menu of an average Nigerian following a claim that cow skin poses more serious health risk to the consumers. Director General, Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST) Dr. Isuwa Adamu in Abuja warned against the consumption of animal hides and skin. While noting that the delicacy lacks any nutritional benefit of any sort, Adamu said the consumption of ponmo as many erroneously believe it to be a substitute for meat, is dangerous for human health. “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,’’ Adamu said. Dr. Isuwa explained that sick animals undergoing treatment are sometimes killed without allowing the chemicals with which they are treated via injection to complete their cycle. And according to him the animal skin retain these chemical which he said are dangerous for human consumption. “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 the 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. Indeed, consumers of ponmo have more reasons for concern. A recent investigation by Sunday Sun at the Lagos State Abattoir situated at Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos revealed that ponmo consumers may be consuming more toxic substance along with their choice delicacy. Sunday Sun observed two different methods of removing the hair on the animal skin. The first involves the soaking of the animal skin in hot water after which a razor is used to shave off the hair. Cow skin prepared in this method comes out in creamy white colour. On the other hand, the brown variety is prepared by subjecting the animal skin to high intensity of heat in order to burn out the hide. After this process, the skin is then washed severally and then softened through a prolong boiling. While the two varieties of ponmo may appear innocuous on..Read More See More here: http://www.naijapoint.com/2015/beware-of-that-ponmo-meat/4405 |
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