Director General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr Gloria Elemo has refuted claims making the rounds that consumption of cassava bread may trigger diabetes.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, Dr Elemo disputed claims circulating the rounds about the susceptibility of cassava bread consumers prone to being diagnosed to be diabetic.
“There arose some insinuations that cassava bread may cause diabetes because of the cassava addition. But we went ahead with further research and discovered that cassava has even lower glycemic index, which proved the opinion wrong”, she said.
Expressing dismay at the level of patronage cassava bread has had to endure by reason of these false allusions, she decried that the cassava bread initiative had experienced slow growth and acceptance in Nigeria.
Asserting Nigeria’s front line position in cassava production, Dr Elemo added that whereas the country is the highest producer of cassava in the world, cassava produce keep wasting away on Nigerian farms while the issue of unemployment remains prevalent.
Dr Elemo however raised concerns on the need to maximize this resource by promoting its value addition and appealed to the Federal Government to execute the cassava bread policy which proposed a 20 per cent cassava flour additive in bread production.