Concerns grow over rising alteration of expiry dates on foods, medications

The menace of selling expired food products in open markets, malls and other public places is raising serious concern on public health, particularly, the safety of Nigerians, who inadvertently consume such items. Sadly, the sharp practice of altering expiry dates on products is aggravating this menace, as hapless consumers, including children, face food borne illnesses and untimely death, GBENGA AKINFENWA reports.

Spmetime in December 2025, Idowu Olalekan visited one of the popular supermarkets on Ekoro road, Abule Egba area of Lagos State to purchase his favourite yoghurt for the family.

Since it was festive season, he decided to give a female church member the juicy and popular brand to have a taste. Immediately she opened the bottle, the first thing she sighted was a maggot on the cap.

In its wiggly and pulsing motion, the maggot, with its tiny hooks, gripped the surface of the cover. She immediately lost appetite and drew Olalekan’s attention to what she saw.

Typical of a normal human being, he abandoned the four remaining bottles, with the fear that others would also contain maggots.When the expiry date of the affected bottle and others were checked, it was discovered that the yoghurts still had over two months of shelf life before it expires, hence something must have gone wrong with the content now containing maggot.

A similar scenario was recorded in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

A student of one of the tertiary institutions in the city, Tutu Adeola, bought some packs of biscuits from an open market.

Her intention was to keep them for weeks and munch whenever she returned from school. The first one she took had a very horrible taste that she was forced to spit it.

Out of anger she hurriedly gave out others with the same bad taste to her friends the same day, during their tutorial class.The advice by one of her course mates was to check the expiry date. All the packs had the same date of four months to expiration. Surprisingly, while the expiry dates were still intact, the contents had expired.

Olalekan and Adeola’s experiences are just two of the numerous cases of expired products allowed to remain on shelves across the country, a situation that has suddenly become a common place.

Investigations and reports show that the experience is becoming common across the country probably owing to the economic downturn.

From road side hawkers, to kiosks, street shops, open markets, and even supermarkets, the sharp practice of selling expired products is becoming noticed.

Some incidents have been reported while others have been swept under the carpet.

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