Fufu, Gari Can Also Cause Cancer - Food Research Inst.

By Paa Kwesi Plange (Chronicle)

Accra - Fears raised by the Ghanaian Chronicle a year ago that some local foods prepared from grains, especially Ga Kenkey, contained aflatoxins (a carcinogenic mycotoxin which is produced especially in stored agricultural crops by moulds) which can cause cancer has been confirmed.

Dr. Wisdom Plahar, Acting Director of the Food Research Institute (FRI) of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), dropped the confirmation during a visit to the institute by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Mr. Cletus Avoka, last Tuesday.

"Fears raised sometime ago that Kenkey causes cancer is real.

Kenkey, fufu, gari, konkonte, sorghum and groundnuts, all national staples, contain aflatoxins which can cause cancer," he emphasised.

He has therefore advised farmers to harvest grains in their dry form to minimise the chances of survival of aflatoxin.

He said the rise in the incidence of cancer deaths recorded at Korle-bu in recent times could be attributed to aflatoxins.

"Our information is that several people have died of cancer of the liver at Korle-bu these few months and it's likely most of these cases can be attributed to aflatoxins."

"Aflatoxin, which was discovered three years ago, is only visible in the form of dust in groundnuts but not visible on grains."

"It thrives on humus, which makes it highly resistant to heat, which is the reason why no amount of cooking can destroy it," he underscored.

Asked what the Institute was doing to deal with the threat posed by the deadly fungus, he said the FRI, in conjunction with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Ghana Standards Board and the Ministry of Health, had formed a task force to arrest the situation.

"The joint task force is currently trying a combination of heat and acid on aflatoxin at the harvesting level of all grains that contain the deadly substance," he explained.

The Ghanaian Chronicle in its Monday August 17 - Tuesday August 18, 1998 issue reported that research conducted by the Food Research Institute (FRI) and some foreign scientists had revealed that there was an occurrence of the strain that causes cancer, particularly liver cancer, in Ga kenkey."

The report, according to the same Chronicle story, disclosed that moulds which develop on maize particles, because of delayed or poor drying process, contain bacteria called aflatoxins a proven cause of cancer.