The wife of the Anambra governor, Nonye Soludo, has urged residents to adopt proper food safety practices, warning that food can become harmful when it is poorly prepared, handled, or stored.

Mrs Soludo, founder of the Healthy Living Initiative, made the call in a message on Monday to mark the 2026 World Food Safety Day with the theme, “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere”.

World Food Safety Day is observed annually on June 7 to raise awareness of food contamination risks and promote preventive measures.

According to Mrs Soludo, food safety remains a critical component of healthy living and should receive greater attention from households, food vendors and other stakeholders.

She said healthy living began not only with eating nutritious meals but also with ensuring that food remained safe from production to consumption.

According to her, food safety is a shared responsibility that requires proper hygiene during preparation, safe handling practices and appropriate storage to prevent food-borne illnesses.

“A nutritious meal loses its value when it is not safe for consumption.

“Your food can either be your medicine or your poison. Whatever goes into your body has the capability to heal or destroy you. You are what you eat,” she said.

Mrs Soludo urged residents to make conscious choices that promoted food safety and overall well-being, emphasising that prevention remained the most effective approach to protecting public health.

She said embracing food safety measures would help build healthier families, stronger communities and a more productive society capable of achieving sustainable development goals.

The governor’s wife reaffirmed her commitment to promoting healthy living across Anambra through sustained public health awareness campaigns, advocacy programmes and community engagement initiatives.

She called on households, food vendors and stakeholders across the food value chain to ensure that food consumed by residents was safe and wholesome.

“Healthy food, safe food, healthy people,” she added.

(NAN)