Moin-Moin Cooked in Cellophane is Poisonous - Minister of Agriculture

Photo credit: Yukibox

Moin-moin is one of Nigerians best delicacy. It is rich in protein and fibre and can be eaten with Pap, Garri, Bread etcetera.

When I saw the headline information some hours ago, I was filled with quilt, even though I was ignorant of this fact. Hence the reason am writing on this topic to inform others.


According to the Minister of Agriculture. Mr Audio Ogbeh, when moin-moin is cooked in cellophane, the cellophane releases poisonous chemicals into the moin-moin which is quite harmful and leads to self poisoning. He advised that leaves should be used instead as leaves do contain antioxidants.

After going through what the Minister opined, I decided to carry out further findings. I found out that the  Minister opinion have some truth in it but the manner in which he related it was quite scary.

My findings showed that the chemical released by cellophane when exposed to heat can become cancerous from accumulating overtime because of the category of resin used in producing cellophane. Most cellophane and plastics contain a chemical called Dioctyl Phthalate which act as plasticizer and it is proven to be released into products at extreme temperature

The Minister warning is serious but not comprehensive as it doesn't apply to moin-moin alone. One have to be careful with sachet water, microwaving in plastics, and using cellophane for other hot foods.

Above all, we should always learn to choose natural options and reduce the consumption of processed  food as much as we can, to minimize self poisoning.